Novo Nordisk, the leading Danish healthcare company has decided to double the number of its employees in Bangladesh within next two months aiming to significantly strengthen its footprint in the local diabetic care market.
Denmark-based Novo Nordisk is a listed company traded on NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange.
At present, the company has about 65 per cent share in Bangladesh insulin market, its officials said at a press meet at a city hotel Tuesday.
The press meet was addressed, among others, by Karin Wierinck, Corporate Vice President, People and Organisation, Novo Nordisk International Operations A/S, Patrizia Fogheri, director, BAOS People and Organisation, Business Area Oceania South East Asia, Novo Nordisk Pharma Operation (BAOS) Sdn. Bhd, and A Rajan Kumar, managing director of Novo Nordisk Pharma in Bangladesh.
"Expansion of our presence in Bangladesh aims to do many more activities and awareness programme in diabetic care, and help more people to diagnose diabetes and have good control over the disease," Ms Karin Wierinck said.
She came to Dhaka in a short visit recently to sit with the Novo Nordisk's local management to discuss on how they can grow more, recruit new workforce and expand their services in Bangladesh, officials said.
Currently, the company has about 100 employees in Bangladesh; the number is set to be raised to 200 within the next two month, Ms Wierinck said, adding that the new recruitments will include the medical representatives.
"We are looking at making the investment for longer term and doing sustainable business here," she said, adding that the company employed about 40 thousand people across the world and 4,500 in this region.
"This (Bangladesh) is really an interesting market for us. We have shared agenda with the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (DAB) to work on the diabetic healthcare in Bangladesh having five million people with diabetes. So, we are going to really grow our presence," the Novo Nordisk's HR official said.
"That's why we are here to discuss whom and how we can hire, and what opportunities we can give to our people internally," Ms Wierinck said.
In a query, she further said that some factors, including large number of population in Bangladesh, its GDP growth, the government's plan in health sector, shared agenda with the DAB, prompted the company to take the expansion programme. "We want to make a different in the area of diabetic care."
Novo Nordisk, with long experience for over 90 years, has strong capability and expertise in the diabetic care area to provide better services, she added.
She also assured of bringing their experiences in Europe to the local market.
In another query regarding the rural people's affordability to buy Novo Nordisk's diabetic medicine, Mr Rajan Kumar said, "We offer wide ranges of products, with different benefits and different prices, to meet the market maturity and need."
He also said that the most of their activities is in the urban areas because city people are more suffered from diabetes.
The company also provides training to doctors from the rural areas, enabling them to render better treatment to the rural people.
The insulin manufacturer is planning to launch a new product--Ryzodeg, the first true combination of two insulins 'degludec and aspart'-- in the next year in Bangladesh, Ms Karin Wierinck said.
Novo Nordisk has been supporting DAB for long in its awareness activities including children art competition, radio programmes, rallies and mass screenings, she added.
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