Novo Nordisk Reshuffles R&D Leadership as Andrea Haegebarth Joins to Lead Global Research
核心洞察
Novo Nordisk has appointed former Bayer (搜索) executive Andrea Haegebarth as Senior Vice President of Global Research, effective 1 October 2026, replacing Jacob Petersen.
Jacob Petersen will transition to Head of R&D External Innovation, with both roles described as complementary to strengthening research and external collaboration.
The leadership changes aim to bolster Novo Nordisk's research programmes across obesity (搜索), diabetes (搜索), cardiovascular disease (搜索) and rare disorders.
Novo Nordisk has announced a reshuffle in its research team, with former Bayer (搜索) executive Andrea Haegebarth set to join as Senior Vice President of Global Research, replacing Jacob Petersen, who will become Head of R&D External Innovation. The changes, effective from 1 October 2026, will support the Danish pharmaceutical giant's efforts to bolster its research programmes and improve engagement with the global scientific community and innovation leaders.
Discussing the appointments on LinkedIn, Martin Holst Lange, Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Novo Nordisk, writes that Andrea and Jacob's "roles are highly complementary – strengthening our research further and connecting us with the best science across the community to deliver meaningful innovation."
A Bayer Veteran Takes the Helm of Global Research
Andrea Haegebarth joins Novo Nordisk to lead its Global Research department, having spent nearly two decades at German pharmaceutical firm Bayer (搜索). She began her career at Bayer as a Research Scientist in its Oncology division and has since held a range of roles across the company's R&D organisation, spanning product commercialisation, R&D strategy and oncology.
Most recently, she held the position of Global Head of Research & Early Development Precision Medicine, where she was responsible for building Bayer (搜索)'s portfolio across precision cardiovascular and nephrology, spanning both chronic and acute care, while supporting activities in immunology. At Novo Nordisk, Andrea's role will focus strongly on drug discovery for serious chronic diseases.
Andrea writes on LinkedIn: "I am particularly excited to bring my experience across cardiovascular, renal and immunology research to help build on Novo Nordisk's strong scientific foundation, expand our impact in related disease areas, and advance innovations that address important unmet needs for patients."
She adds: "For me, the opportunity is about more than building a strong research pipeline. It is about building a pipeline of possibilities for patients - new approaches, new treatments and, ultimately, new hope for people and families affected by chronic disease."
External Innovation and Pipeline Priorities
Jacob Petersen, who will become Head of R&D External Innovation, describes his new position on LinkedIn: "External innovation is not only about looking outside our walls. It is about staying open, humble and curious. It is about learning from the global scientific community, building trusted relationships, and bringing together the very best ideas, technologies and capabilities, wherever they originate, to help create medicines that can make a meaningful difference for patients."
Novo Nordisk is strengthening its R&D pipeline across obesity (搜索), diabetes (搜索) and related chronic conditions, building on its expertise in incretin biology. Key programmes include CagriSema and a range of next-generation GLP-1 therapies, alongside research into cardiovascular disease (搜索) and rare disorders.
AI and Digital Acceleration
The company is also using AI and digital technologies to accelerate drug development and decision-making, including through the establishment of an "AI co-innovation hub" in London with Amazon Web Services (搜索), which was announced in August 2026. The strategic partnership will use AWS cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities alongside Novo Nordisk's scientific expertise, data and research platforms, aiming to improve the speed and scale of discovering and developing new medicines.
Novo Nordisk has also forged partnerships with Aspect Biosystems (搜索) to develop advanced cellular medicines for diabetes (搜索) using 3D bioprinting technology, and with Vivtex (搜索) to develop next-generation oral biologic medicines for obesity (搜索), diabetes and related conditions. The Vivtex deal could be worth up to US$2.1bn, with Novo Nordisk leading global development and commercialisation.