Novo Nordisk named as world’s second-best science employer

Novo Nordisk has announced that it has been ranked as the world's second-best science employer in the 2014 Science Careers Top Employers Survey.

The company significantly improved on its performance from last year, when it came 11th, thanks to high scores on metrics such as treating employees with respect, staff loyalty and social responsibility.

Published annually, the survey is based on 5,394 responses from readers of Science magazine, as well as from employees in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, who were asked to rank the 20 best employers on a number of characteristics.

Novo Nordisk currently employs more than 40,000 people globally, with this figure expected to rise to more than 60,000 over the next decade.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, chief science officer and executive vice president at Novo Nordisk, said: "The fact that the research community feels that Novo Nordisk is one of the very best places to work matters a great deal for a company growing at Novo Nordisk's pace."

The firm specialises in the development of diabetes therapies, but also produces haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy offerings.