MATTER, Novo Nordisk and Green Innovation Group partner on sustainable healthcare challenge

The challenge calls for solutions that will help Novo Nordisk reach their goal of zero environmental impact.

Chicago, IL, October 14, 2019 — MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, today announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company with 95 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes, and Green Innovation Group, a Danish company accelerating the green transition by fostering cooperation between companies to find more sustainable alternatives for their organizations, to host the second annual Novo Nordisk Innovation Challenge. This year’s challenge aims to explore, design and co-develop solutions that improve the circularity, reusability or recyclability of Novo Nordisk products.

“There are significant opportunities to improve the environmental footprint of the healthcare industry, including among life sciences companies that manufacture life-saving medicines and products,” said MATTER CEO Steven Collens. “We are honored to partner with Novo Nordisk to help them as they explore new ways to reduce their environmental impact.”

“There are significant opportunities to improve the environmental footprint of the healthcare industry, including among life sciences companies that manufacture life-saving medicines and products.” - Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER

Globally, 29 million people living with diabetes rely on Novo Nordisk’s medicine. Novo Nordisk medicines and injection pens require huge amounts of energy, water and raw materials to produce and distribute — putting them on the frontline of plastic waste and water scarcity. Through the 2019-20 Novo Nordisk Innovation Challenge, the company aims to address two of the biggest challenges on their path to zero environmental impact: making injection devices fit for circularity and enabling the reuse and recycling of injection devices.

“At Novo Nordisk, we are shaping our business practices to deliver on our clear ambition to have zero environmental impact,” said Kenneth Strømdahl, senior vice president for device research and development at Novo Nordisk. “By collaborating with MATTER and Green Innovation Group, we believe we’ll find novel solutions that will enable us to reduce our use of resources and to more effectively design our devices for recycling after use.”

The 2019-20 Novo Nordisk Innovation Challenge is part of the Novo Nordisk Innovation Partnering Program, launched last year, which is designed to foster meaningful collaborations between Novo Nordisk and the healthcare innovation community. The challenge is open to mature startups with a proven solution and teams from across the innovation ecosystem. The winning team will receive a €25,000 cash award plus a one-year opportunity to pilot an initiative with Novo Nordisk.

Interested companies can learn more and apply on the challenge website. Submissions are due by December 13, 2019 at 11:59pm Central European Time (CET).

Join us Nov 5 for a fireside chat and Q&A session
Kenneth Strømdahl, senior vice president of global device research and development, will share more about Novo Nordisk’s corporate commitment to circularity and their approach to working with startups. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions and hear from leaders at Novo Nordisk and MATTER about the challenge. RSVP to join us at MATTER or via livestream.

About MATTER
At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 200 cutting-edge startups from around the world, working together with hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.

About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 95 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat obesity, haemophilia, growth disorders and other serious chronic diseases. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,600 people in 80 countries and markets its products in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Green Innovation Group
By matching supply and demand for green innovation, Green Innovation Group (GIG) helps clients speed up their businesses and speed up the green transition. Their platform grants access to a global network, including more than 6,000 green innovations. GIG mobilizes actors by matching real needs with green innovative solutions that have been tested in the market — this is best demonstrated through their portfolio of more than 25 conferences and accelerators in 12 different countries. To GIG, good business is green business. For more information, visit greeninnnovationgroup.com and follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.