In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation allocates up to DKK 250 million to Statens Serum Institut in connection with establishing a national test centre for SARS-CoV-2. The grant aims to contribute to significantly increasing the number of people in Denmark who can be tested to determine whether they are or have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. The test activities start immediately, and the ambition is to be able to test up to 20,000 people per day. The new national test centre, TestCenter Danmark, is based at Statens Serum Institut and is established in close collaboration between the government; the administrative regions; the national emergency services and hospitals, including Rigshospitalet; the Foundation; and Novo Nordisk A/S. Other companies, including Novozymes A/S, provide equipment. The Foundation also allocates DKK 50 million for emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark to support projects seeking to mitigate the adverse health consequences of the pandemic in Denmark and a further DKK 20 million for humanitarian and development projects to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in vulnerable parts of the world.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D and Chief Science Officer, Novo Nordisk A/S, takes over as CEO of the Foundation on 1 March 2021. He replaces Birgitte Nauntofte, CEO since 2009. The Foundation has developed significantly over the past decade. When Birgitte Nauntofte joined in 2009, the Foundation had three employees and awarded annual grants of about DKK 200 million. At the end of 2020, the Foundation had 211 employees and awarded annual grants of about DKK 5.5 billion.