GOVERNOR CORZINE LAUDS DECISION OF LEADING HEALTHCARE FIRM TO EXPAND U.S. HEADQUARTERS IN NEW JERSEY

PRINCETON - Governor Jon S. Corzine today praised the decision of Novo Nordisk to expand the healthcare company’s U.S. headquarters in Princeton. The new building has the capacity for more than 400 additional employees and will feature an in-house training facility capable of training 100 employees simultaneously.

“It’s rare that we can make an announcement that’s a public-policy trifecta: good for public health, good for the economy, and good for the environment. Novo Nordisk is accomplishing all three,” said Governor Corzine. “This facility will help diabetes patients around the world, it will create good new jobs for our highly-trained New Jersey workforce, and equally important, it will be renovated according to the very latest in energy-efficient environmentally-friendly designs.

“Novo Nordisk is clearly one of New Jersey’s most important partners in business and in health-care. The company’s decision to expand demonstrates the state is an attractive location for innovative companies to grow and bolsters New Jersey’s reputation as ‘the world’s medicine chest.’ I want to thank President Jerzy Gruhn and Novo Nordisk for their continued commitment to the Garden State.”

New Jersey’s vibrant biotechnology and life science industries were an influential factor in Novo Nordisk’s expansion decision. The state is currently home to 15 of the world’s 25 largest pharmaceutical companies and over 235 biotechnology companies. In addition, New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and medical technology industries spent $7.5 billion in R&D investments in 2006 and created 148,768 jobs.

“We consider the state of New Jersey a partner in our success and growth,” said Jerzy Gruhn, President of Novo Nordisk, Inc. “The state’s commitment to economic development, its strategic location, highly educated workforce and reputation as a leader in the pharmaceutical and life science industries were deciding factors in our expansion decision.”

Novo Nordisk plans to begin occupying the new campus, located at 1100 College Road, this spring. The lease is for 15 years and the $20 million facility is the first of five, five-story buildings to be completed on the Princeton Corporate Campus, an 800,000-square-foot master-planned office development.

The company has an 85-year history of innovation and achievements in diabetes care and the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk A/S employs more than 26,000 employees in 80 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. Approximately 800 people are employed at the Princeton location.

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page.