11 biotech companies leading the way in Denmark By Willow Shah-Neville 17 minutesmins July 8, 2026 17 minutesmins Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email Photo credits: Nick Karvounis Newsletter Signup - Under Article / In Page"*" indicates required fieldsFacebookThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest biotech news!By clicking this I agree to receive Labiotech's newsletter and understand that my personal data will be processed according to the Privacy Policy.*Company name*Job title*Business email* Known for being one of the happiest countries in the world, Denmark has now become a significant hub for biotech in Europe. In the last few years, the country’s life sciences sector has accelerated its output of high-quality research, and the country currently ranks 16th globally for biological sciences-related output in 2026. Following the example of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk – which on its own helped to raise Denmark’s gross domestic product (GDP) after the success of its weight loss drug Wegovy – many biotech companies in Denmark are striving to bring forth the next big breakthrough in the biopharma industry. In this article, we look at 11 of the best biotech companies based in Denmark. Table of contentsAdcendo Technology: Antibody-drug conjugates Disease area: Oncology Recent news: Raised $75 million in series C funding Adcendo is advancing a pipeline of first- and best-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) across solid epithelial tumors and cancer with mesenchymal origin, with three programs in clinical development and additional discovery assets progressing toward IND studies. The company’s three programs are: ADCE-T02, targeting tissue factor, which is overexpressed in a broad range of solid tumors, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer; ADCE-D01, targeting uPARAP, which is overexpressed in high unmet need cancers, including soft tissue sarcoma and other cancers of mesenchymal origin; and ADCE-B05, the target for which is undisclosed, and it is currently being evaluated preclinically in squamous cell solid tumors. ADCE-T02 is currently being evaluated as a monotherapy in a phase 1 trial in patients with advanced solid tumors. The first patients have already been enrolled in the cohort expansion portion across multiple solid tumor indications. Meanwhile, ADCE-D01 is currently being evaluated as a monotherapy in a phase 1 study in patients with metastatic and/or unresectable soft tissue sarcoma, and was recently granted fast track designation and orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In April 2026, the Danish ADC company announced that it had raised $75 million in series C funding to support the advancement of its programs through upcoming clinical milestones. Antag Therapeutics Technology: Peptide therapies Disease area: Obesity Recent news: Successfully completed phase 1 trial of lead candidate AT-7687 Obesity-focused company Antag Therapeutics is working on the development of peptide therapies targeting the GIP receptor (GIPR). GIP is an incretin hormone released by the small intestine in response to food intake that plays a crucial role in the regulation of insulin secretion, glucose metabolism, and fat storage. By targeting this hormone, Antag is aiming for better weight loss and metabolic benefits without common side effects like those caused by GLP-1-based therapies, such as tolerability issues and loss of muscle mass. The company’s lead candidate, AT7687, is a peptide designed as a monotherapy or to be co-administered with current or future obesity therapies, including GLP-1 medicines, to deliver superior weight loss and metabolic benefits. A phase 1 trial for the candidate has been successfully completed, in which the drug demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile across both single ascending dose and multiple ascending dose cohorts. Antag said it expects to start a phase 2a study very soon, in mid-2026. In December 2024, the Denmark-based biotech company secured €80 million ($84 million) in a series A financing round, which was led by Versant Ventures and included participation from founding investor Novo Holdings, among others. Ascendis Pharma Platform technology: TransCon Disease areas: Endocrinology, rare diseases, and oncology Recent news: Received FDA approval for YUVIWEL for children with achondroplasia Ascendis Pharma is a biotech company based in Hellerup, Denmark, focused on the development of improved treatments that address unmet medical needs. The company has a platform technology called TransCon, which allows it to slow down the release of a drug once inside the body, significantly reducing the frequency of injections needed to treat a chronic condition. Suggested Articles Medicon Valley: how the initiative shaped biotech ecosystems in Denmark and Sweden Beyond Wegovy: Could Novo Nordisk’s new experimental weight loss pill be even better? Did Novo open the Canadian market to GLP-1 generics? Europe’s rising biotech stars: 10 startups to watch in 2024 Is Copenhagen the world capital of life science? TransCon refers to “transient conjugation,” which is the ability to temporarily link an inert carrier to a parent drug with known biology. Depending on the carrier used, TransCon prodrugs can be designed to act systemically or locally, focused on meeting a specific therapeutic goal. TransCon is widely applicable to proteins, peptides, or small molecules in multiple therapeutic areas. Ascendis has a pipeline focused on oncology and rare diseases involving endocrinology. In 2021, it had its first product approved by the FDA, named SKYTROFA, which is a treatment for pediatric growth hormone deficiency. People with this rare disease require daily injections, and many patients are known to skip doses during the week due to the high frequency required. In contrast, Ascendis’ treatment must only be taken once a week, reducing the burden for patients. Ascendis also announced in 2023 that the European Commission had approved another one of its products, called YORVIPATH, for the treatment of adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism, a rare condition where the parathyroid glands, which are in the neck near the thyroid gland, produce too little parathyroid hormone. The FDA then followed suit in 2024 by approving YORVIPATH in the U.S. Most recently, in February 2026, the FDA also approved Ascendis’ YUVIWEL, making it the first once-weekly treatment indicated to increase linear growth in children two years of age and older with achondroplasia (a genetic skeletal dysplasia caused by an FGFR3 mutation that inhibits bone growth at the growth plates) with open epiphyses, and the only treatment to provide continuous systemic exposure to C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) – a potent signaling protein that stimulates bone growth – over the weekly dosing interval. Bavarian Nordic Technology: Vaccines Disease area: Infectious diseases Recent news: Received approval in Canada for chikungunya vaccine VIMKUNYA Bavarian Nordic is a pioneer in the vaccine space and has built its foundation around poxviral-based vaccine platform technologies, in particular, its proprietary technology Modified Vaccinia Ankara – Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN). MVA-BN is an adaptable platform suitable for addressing a wide variety of infectious diseases and cancers. It is a further attenuated version of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus, which is a highly attenuated strain of the poxvirus Chorioallantois Vaccinia virus Ankara (CVA). The company is a global leader in smallpox vaccines and has been a long-term supplier to the U.S. government of a non-replicating smallpox vaccine, which has been approved by the FDA, and is also intended to protect against monkeypox. The vaccine is also approved as a smallpox and monkeypox vaccine in Canada and as a smallpox vaccine in Europe. More recently, Bavarian Nordic also received FDA approval for its virus-like particle single-dose chikungunya (a virus spread by mosquitoes that can cause symptoms like fever and joint pain) vaccine, sold under the brand name VIMKUNYA. It is the first chikungunya vaccine approved for people as young as 12 years old, addressing an unmet need for chikungunya prevention for younger travelers. The company’s vaccine also received approval at the end of last month in Canada, marking the fifth approval overall for VIMKUNYA. Genmab Technology: Antibody therapies Disease area: Oncology Recent news: Received European Commission approval for TEPKINLY in combination with lenalidomide and rituximab for follicular lymphoma. Founded in 1999 in Denmark, international biotech company Genmab has invented next-generation antibody technology platforms and leveraged translational, quantitative, and data sciences, resulting in a pipeline including bispecific antibodies and ADCs aimed at tackling cancer. To help develop and deliver these novel antibody therapies to patients, Genmab has formed more than 20 strategic partnerships with biotech and pharma companies, such as AbbVie, Janssen, Amgen, and BioNTech. The company already has eight of its products on the market. Its most recent approval came at the start of this month after the European Commission granted marketing authorization for TEPKINLY (epcoritamab) in combination with lenalidomide and rituximab for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. Epcoritamab has already received regulatory approval in certain lymphoma indications in more than 65 territories, and is being co-developed with AbbVie as part of the companies’ oncology collaboration. The companies share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization. The company also opened a new site last year in New Jersey to expand its U.S. presence and to become a fully integrated biotech company that can also commercialize and deliver its drugs to patients rather than relying on external companies to do so. Gubra Technology: Peptide therapies Disease areas: Metabolic and fibrotic diseases Recent news: Submitted a clinical trial application in Germany for a phase 1/2a trial of internal lead candidate GUB-UCN2 Organized into three main business areas – biotech, CRO, and ventures – Gubra is able to generate a steady cash flow from its CRO business while investing in high-impact biotech research and development (R&D) projects with significant value inflection potential through partnerships. The company has around 300 employees and had a revenue of DKK 2.6 billion (around $400 million) in 2025. Gubra’s lead internal program, GUB-UCN2, is based on a differentiated CRHR2-selective mechanism designed to deliver improvement of physical function and preservation or increase of muscle mass in patients undergoing incretin-based weight loss treatment. In February 2026, the company submitted a clinical trial application in Germany for a phase 1/2a trial designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary efficacy of GUB-UCN2 with a particular focus on muscle volume and muscle function endpoints. The Danish biotech company also has three significant clinical partnered assets in development. The first candidate, now called ABBV-295, is a long-acting amylin analog. In March 2025, Gubra announced a license agreement with AbbVie to develop the candidate. According to a recent update, AbbVie reported encouraging phase 1 data for the asset, demonstrating dose-dependent and highly competitive weight loss approaching 10% over 12-13 weeks in a predominantly male, non-obese population. Gubra stated that these results are promising, and it looks forward to AbbVie advancing the ongoing phase 1b study in obese patients, as well as initiating phase 2 of clinical development in Q3 2026. The second asset is a triple agonist that is fully outlicensed to Boehringer Ingelheim. The two companies announced the launch of a phase 1 study for it in July 2024, with the initiation of the trial releasing a milestone payment to Gubra. Boehringer is now progressing the program to phase 2 starting in mid 2026. Meanwhile, the third asset, AMX0318, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor antagonist, is being developed by Gubra’s partner Amylyx Pharmaceutical, which announced its selection as a development candidate for post-bariatric hypoglycemia (PBH) and other rare diseases with an IND targeted for 2027. MinervaX Technology: Vaccines Disease area: Infectious diseases Recent news: Entered into agreement with Wacker Biotech to manufacture active protein ingredients for GBS vaccine As an antibiotic resistance company based in Copenhagen, Denmark, biotech MinervaX was established to create a prophylactic vaccine against group B Streptococcus (GBS) based on research from Lund University. It is working on the development of a GBS vaccine for maternal immunization since GBS can cause a potentially fatal infection in newborn infants. There are currently no approved vaccines available for GBS. MinervaX’s candidate is a protein-only vaccine based on fusions of highly immunogenic and protective protein domains from selected surface proteins of GBS. Given the broad distribution of proteins contained in the vaccine on GBS strains globally, the company expects that its vaccine will offer protection against virtually 100% of all GBS isolates. Two phase 2 trials of the vaccine have been successfully completed, with data showing an acceptable safety profile in pregnant women and their infants, as well as high immunogenicity, leading to functionally active antibodies with the potential for broad coverage and protection, ultimately alleviating the need for excessive use of antibiotics. Alongside its maternal program, the Denmark-based biotech is also advancing the development of its vaccine in older adults, having recently completed a phase 1 trial. In 2023, MinervaX raised €54 million ($58.9 million) in upsized financing. Meanwhile, in 2024, the company also entered into an agreement with the CDMO Wacker Biotech to manufacture its active protein ingredients for its GBS vaccine. Muna Therapeutics Technology: Small molecule therapies Disease area: Neurodegenerative diseases Recent news: Was awarded a $1 million research grant from the Alzheimer’s Association to support the ongoing phase 1 trial of lead candidate MNA-001 Launched by Novo Holdings in 2021 with $73 million in series A funding, Muna Therapeutics is focused on the development of small molecule therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The company was formed by the combination of two European startup companies: Muna and K5 Therapeutics. Muna’s portfolio of disease-modifying small molecule potential therapies includes two programs that address the functions of a key cell type, called microglia, which respond to and exacerbate neurodegeneration and compromise neuronal function. Its lead asset, MNA-001, is a small-molecule TREM2 agonist that is completing phase 1 of development and is on track to begin phase 2 testing in early Alzheimer’s patients in early 2027. In December 2024, Muna entered into a strategic alliance with GSK to identify and validate novel drug targets for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. As part of the agreement, the two companies said they would explore insights from Muna’s MiND-MAP platform, which applies spatial transcriptomics to brain samples from Alzheimer’s disease patients, cognitively resilient individuals, healthy controls, and centenarians with and without cognitive impairment. The Danish biotech company awarded a $1 million research grant in January from the Alzheimer’s Association to support its ongoing phase 1 trial of MNA-001. ReproNovo Technology: Small molecules Disease areas: Fertility and women’s health Recent news: Dosed first patient in EU phase 2 trial of RPN-002 for embryo implantation With its primary development team based in Copenhagen, ReproNovo is aiming to address critical gaps in male and female fertility, as well as women’s health. The company’s clinical programs prioritize mechanisms targeting biological drivers of infertility not adequately addressed by existing interventions. Meanwhile, its women’s health research aims to expand treatment options for conditions affecting women of reproductive age, with adenomyosis representing its first therapeutic focus. The Denmark-based biotech company has two assets in clinical development. The first, RPN-001 (leflutrozole), is currently being evaluated in a phase 2 trial in the U.S. in men with low sperm count and low testosterone. The candidate is an aromatase inhibitor that has the potential to induce and increase sperm production and thereby enhance the availability of sperm for fertility treatment and natural conception. By inhibiting the aromatase enzyme, it suppresses the conversion of testosterone to estradiol, in turn increasing testosterone levels and rebalancing the testosterone to estradiol ratio. ReproNovo’s second candidate, RPN-002 (nolasiban), is an oxytocin receptor antagonist being developed for embryo implantation and for the management of adenomyosis. The company announced on July 6 that the first participant had been dosed in its EU phase 2 clinical trial of RPN-002 for embryo implantation. The study is evaluating two dosing regimens of the asset on uterine contractility and endocrine parameters. In May 2025, ReproNovo raised $65 million in series A funding to help it advance its pipeline. Vesper Bio Technology: Small molecules Disease area: Neurological diseases Recent news: Secured a $2.5 million strategic investment from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Vesper Bio is developing small molecule-based selective sortilin inhibitors as novel oral therapies for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Its lead compound, VES001, is a brain-penetrant, oral treatment that targets progranulin deficiency, a major underlying cause of a genetically driven type of frontotemporal degeneration. VES001 works by selectively preventing the degradation of progranulin while preserving sortilin levels and functions crucial for neuronal health, in contrast to antibody-mediated degradation of sortilin. With VES001, Vesper aims to normalize levels of progranulin and reduce neuroinflammation and disease progression in both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. In October 2025, the company announced positive phase 1b/2a topline results for VES001, which led to a more than 95% mean increase in progranulin levels compared to baseline. It also had a favorable safety and tolerability profile during the three-month daily dosing regimen, with few adverse events reported. In November 2025, the Danish biotech also secured a $2.5 million strategic investment from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Zealand Pharma Technology: Peptide therapies Disease area: Obesity Recent news: Positive topline phase 3 results were announced for Boehringer Ingelheim-partnered candidate survodutide Working on the development of next-generation peptide therapeutics, Zealand Pharma is focused on treatments for various indications, including the extremely popular field of obesity. The Danish biotech company’s two most advanced candidates are petrelintide and survodutide. Petrelintide is a long-acting amylin analog designed for weight management. Zealand Pharma entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Roche in which the two companies are co-developing and co-commercializing petrelintide as both a standalone therapy and as a fixed-dose combination with Roche’s lead incretin asset CT-388. Positive topline phase 2 results were announced for the candidate in March, as it achieved an up to 10.7% mean body weight reduction at week 42 versus 1.7% with placebo. Survodutide, meanwhile, is a long-acting, glucagon/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist designed to leverage the body weight reduction and glycemic control of GLP-1 receptors with some activity on the glucagon receptors, which are present in the liver. The drug is licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim, with the big pharma solely responsible for development and commercialization globally, while Zealand has co-promotion rights in the Nordic countries. In April, Boehringer announced positive topline results from the phase 3 study of the candidate, as adults living with obesity or overweight, without type 2 diabetes, who were treated with survodutide, experienced sustained weight loss of up to an average of 16.6% after 76 weeks. Denmark: A small nation with a mighty biotech sector Although Denmark is one of Europe’s smaller countries, it has an extremely well-established life sciences sector, and is home to several major international pharmaceutical companies, as well as innovative biotech companies like those mentioned in this article – many of which are following in the footsteps of Danish giant Novo Nordisk in developing obesity candidates. Denmark’s government invests substantially in research and development (R&D) in the country; it funds the academic sector, as well as the Danish National Research Foundation, which is an independent research-funding body established by the Danish parliament in 1991. In 2024, the Danish government also released the “Strategy for Life Science Towards 2030” vision, which aims to realize the industry’s potential towards 2030, in turn showing the government’s commitment to the industry. On top of government funding, there is also a considerable amount of international investment in the sector. Ultimately, the combination of public and private investment is a major factor in the recent success of Denmark’s biotech industry. This article was originally published in June 2018 by Clara Rodríguez Fernández and has since been updated by Willow Shah-Neville in July 2026.This article is reserved for subscribers Subscribe for free to continue reading.Enter your details to log in or subscribe. Email Company name Job title Continue Readingor Continue with Microsoft Continue with LinkedIn By continuing, I agree to receive Labiotech's newsletter and understand that my personal data will be processed according to the Privacy Policy. 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