Founder Profile
Harald Pedersen
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Harald Pedersen?
Harald Pedersen is a founder of Novo Nordisk A/S, which was founded in 1989 with Hans Christian Hagedorn.
- Company founded
- Novo Nordisk A/S
- Founded
- 1989
- Co-founders
- Hans Christian Hagedorn
Background
Harald Pedersen was a Danish machine maker who, with his brother Thorvald, a pharmacist, founded Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium in 1925 after leaving Nordisk.
Founding Story
Harald Pedersen and his brother Thorvald worked at Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium before a 1924 dispute led them to set up Novo Terapeutisk Laboratorium in Copenhagen in 1925. Harald designed the production equipment and the company's early insulin syringe, while Thorvald handled chemistry. Novo grew into a major insulin and enzyme producer and merged with Nordisk in 1989. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Sources
This profile does not yet cite a source specific to Harald Pedersen. The sources below document the company company rather than the person, so check them against the claims above.
- Novo Nordisk FY2025 Form 20-F (Novo Nordisk A/S)
- Novo Nordisk A/S on Wikipedia (Novo Nordisk A/S)