Success Story

Nordic companies won half of the Choose France Awards 2020

The second edition of the Choose France Awards took place on December 10th, aiming to salute international investors’ commitment to French regions’ dynamism. Business France decided to honor five international investors established in France, based on different criteria: Ecological Transition, Competitiveness & Innovation, Cohesion & Solidarity, and two additional: one chosen by the Jury and one concerning the COVID-19 crisis management.

Over 50 companies from 21 countries established in 12 French Regions were submitted as participants to the Awards.

It was with great pleasure that the Jury elected 2 Nordic companies for the “Ecological Transition” prize and the “Special Jury” prize.

Novo Nordisk rewarded for its efforts towards green transition

The “Ecological Transition” prize was awarded to Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company which, from 2019-2020, invested €50 million in its Chartres site (Centre-Val de Loire region), aiming to use green energies for its production activities solely. The plan is to use green electricity by the end of 2020, gas by the end of 2022, and reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2030.

Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company in the treatment of diabetes. The company also occupies a top position in hemophilia, growth disorders, and menopause treatments. It employs over 43,200 people in about 80 countries globally and commercializes its products in 170 countries.

In France, Novo Nordisk employs 1,570 people in Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), making it the department’s first industrial employer. Chartres’ site produces treatments for over 7 million patients in 85+ countries and is, therefore, one of the world’s largest insulin production sites and the group’s second production site. It is one of the first locations where the Circular For Zero strategy was adopted, which has the ambition to make Novo Nordisk a neutral carbon impact company. The company aims at achieving its carbon neutrality objective by adopting a circular approach throughout its value chain – from product design to end of life, including production. Since January 2020, all of the firm’s medicines and injection pens are produced solely from renewable energies. Novo Nordisk will continue and intensify its efforts in the years to come.

Recipharm rewarded for the production of COVID-19 vaccine

The “Special Jury” prize was given to the Swedish company Recipharm, whose Monts site (Centre-Val de Loire region) has produced the pharmaceutical form of the Moderna vaccine in just four months, compared with three years, which is the usual amount of time for a project of this scope.

Recipharm, established in 1995 and listed on NASDAQ Stockholm, is a leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO). It currently employs 9,000 people around the world.

The company is established in France since 2007 and has four sites (Fontaine-lès-Dijon (21), Kaysersberg (68), Monts (37), and Pessac (33)) and is experiencing real success in 2020 for its business model. The firm is, therefore, increasing its development projects in its different sites.

Last November, the company chose its Monts site to sign a letter of intent for the aseptic fill-finish manufacturing of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273). The site, a specialist in the manufacturing of sterile products in glass containers, currently employs 200 people and comprises several filling lines (dedicated to glass vials for injection and filling aseptic cartridges). Such a vast project will enable the company to expand its production lines to double its manufacturing capacities.

As the awards show, both companies represent significant assets for France’s dynamism and attractiveness and are part of a larger Nordic companies scene present on the territory. The Choose France Awards 2020 highlighted the importance of such a Nordic presence and its value for France.

Article written by Raphaëlle Delin.