[10] In recent years, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has increased its focus on innovation, diabetes treatment and grants for humanitarian and social purposes.

The grants go primarily to support research in biomedicine, biotechnology, general medicine, nursing and art history at public knowledge institutions.

[32] The level of research funding concentration granted from enterprise foundations has consistently been a central issue in science policy discussions.

Intensive concentration has been viewed both as a means to enhance and direct research investments effectively and as a concerning trend leading to excessive competition, reduced diversity, and the selection of conservative topics.

[35] Concerns have been raised about the potential influence of the Novo Nordisk Foundation's agenda on the direction of scientific research.

Critics express concerns about the potential effect of the foundation's allocation of funds on the diversity of research topics and perspectives within the Danish scientific community,[36] as it tends to prioritize projects that align with its strategic goals.

In response to these concerns, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has introduced partial randomisation in its grant allocation process.

[38] This approach was designed to mitigate biases and increase the diversity of funded research, aiming to support projects that might otherwise be overlooked.

[47][48][49][50] In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation allocated $260 million to develop vaccines for respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza.

[51][52][53][54] In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation worked on developing vaccines and treatments for tuberculosis, addressing the broader issue of antimicrobial resistance.

[55][56] In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation launched an initiative to support research infrastructure development, specifically aimed at facilitating the creation and scaling up of cell therapy solutions and products.