Novo Nordisk Foundation launches €60.2m European incubator for cardiometabolic drug discovery

The new programme, called CardioMetabolic Bridge, will be backed with DKK450m (€60.2m) over six years. It is designed to identify promising university research in areas such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and develop it into projects that could become new therapies, spinouts or assets attractive to pharmaceutical companies and investors.

The first site will open in London in June 2026, followed by additional hubs in Italy and Germany later this year. The initiative will be managed by Copenhagen-based BII, the life sciences entrepreneurship foundation that has already supported more than 130 companies through programmes such as Venture Lab, Bio Studio and BII Quantum Lab.

The move gives a more disease-focused shape to the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s wider plan to scale BII as a European platform for translating research into companies. In January, the foundation committed up to DKK5.5bn (€736m) to BII for the period 2026–2035, with the ambition of turning more European science into startups, jobs and technologies with commercial and societal impact. At the time, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, said the funding would give BII “the opportunity to expand its reach and further strengthen its position as a European powerhouse for innovation.”

CardioMetabolic Bridge now applies that model to one of Europe’s most commercially and medically important therapeutic areas. Cardiometabolic diseases have become a central focus for the pharmaceutical industry following the success of GLP-1-based drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, while obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications continue to place a growing burden on healthcare systems.

The initiative reflects a concern that promising academic discoveries in Europe often fail to move beyond the university setting because their commercial potential is not tested early enough. CardioMetabolic Bridge is expected to support around 30 projects over six years. Selected academic teams will receive access to funding, laboratory facilities, business development support, mentoring and drug discovery expertise. The goal is to help researchers generate the early validation and translational package needed to make projects investable or suitable for further industrial development.

BII’s track record is particularly relevant in this field. Its portfolio includes Embark Biotech, an obesity-focused company acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2023. While Novo Nordisk could ultimately benefit from discoveries emerging from the new programme, the stated objective is broader: to strengthen Europe’s drug discovery ecosystem and help more biomedical science cross the gap between publication and product development.

For BII, the programme is another example of the partnership-driven model highlighted in the January expansion. Jens Nielsen, CEO of BII, previously said: “We have proven that our innovation platform is successful, but we cannot push the boundaries of innovation alone.” CardioMetabolic Bridge extends that logic across European research hubs, combining philanthropic capital, local academic networks and BII’s company-building infrastructure.

The initiative also signals how the Novo Nordisk Foundation is using its financial firepower to shape Europe’s translational life sciences landscape. Rather than funding only individual research projects, the foundation is increasingly building platforms that connect universities, entrepreneurs, investors and industry around defined areas of need. In cardiometabolic disease, the opportunity is especially clear: Europe has scientific depth, but the next challenge is ensuring that more of it reaches the clinic.