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Since the American biotech company Genzyme established its Nordic head office in Copenhagen in 2002 the organisation has more than trebled in size. Moreover, Genzyme has extended its activities in Copenhagen even further by the acquisition of the cell laboratory Verigen in 2005.
"Copenhagen was a good choice for us and it was a natural development to move additional functions from the European head office in the Netherlands to Copenhagen," says general manager Nordic area Hilde Furberg, who is Norwegian.
More functions to Copenhagen
At the outset in 2002, the Nordic head office was first and foremost engaged in sales and marketing activities, but now also handles finance and administration for all the Nordic countries. Moreover, a new drug department with a staff of four has been established. In total the head office now has over 30 Nordic employees, compared to only eight in 2002.
Hilde Furberg estimates that the growth of the Nordic head office will continue:
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"The Nordic countries are at the forefront when it comes to implementing new techniques and new directives in the pharmaceutical industry. This means that other sectors of our European organisation can learn from our experience and also that the Nordic countries will have far more influence than their size would dictate."
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"Copenhagen may not have been the most natural choice in view of the customer base, and competition was keen when we made the decision. However, we are very pleased that we chose Copenhagen. We like the infrastructure, the logistics, the flexible labour market and our team of very competent employees," says Hilde Furberg, adding:
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"In Copenhagen we are not only centrally located in the Nordic countries. We are also close to the rest of Europe. For Genzyme it was also important to be located in Medicon Valley, which has one of Europe’s strongest concentrations of pharma and biotech companies."
