Hans Christian Hagedorn

Hans Christian Hagedorn was a pioneering Danish physician who co-founded the Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium in 1923. His defining moment was the development of the first prolonged-acting insulin formulations, which transformed insulin from a life-saving but short-acting emergency treatment into a manageable chronic therapy. This decision established the company's long-term philosophy of focusing on peptide chemistry and formulation science to improve patient compliance.

Hans Christian Hagedorn (1888-1971) was a Danish physician who co-founded Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium in 1923 with August and Marie Krogh after the Kroghs obtained rights to make insulin in Scandinavia. In 1936 he showed that adding protamine slowed insulin absorption, which led to NPH (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn) insulin, a long-acting insulin still used today. Nordisk merged with rival Novo in 1989 to form Novo Nordisk.