Novozymes

Novozymes is a global biotechnology company headquartered in Bagsværd outside of Copenhagen, Denmark employing approximately 6,500 people by the end of 2014. The company has operations in a number of countries around the world, including China, India, Brazil, Argentina, United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Class B shares of its stock are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic exchange.

The company’s focus is the research, development and production of industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and biopharmaceutical ingredients. As of 2013, the company holds an estimated 48% of the global enzyme market, making it the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes.

History

In 1925 the brothers Harald and Thorvald Pedersen founded Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium and Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium with the aim to produce insulin. In 1941 the company's predecessor launched its first enzyme, trypsin, extracted from the pancreas of animals and used to soften leather, and was the first to produce enzymes by fermentation using bacteria in 1950s. In the late 1980s Novozymes presented the world’s first fat-splitting enzyme for detergents manufactured with genetically engineered microorganisms, called Lipolase.