Karolinska Institutet, one of the world's leading medical universities, and a global healthcare company, Novo Nordisk signed a collaboration agreement in the field of diabetes. The programme will be fully funded by Novo Nordisk.

In the new international post-doctoral fellowship programme, a total of 12 post-doctoral researchers will be offered a three-year grant to support their research primarily within the field of diabetes and metabolism. The research will be performed at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, but there will also be possibility for research exchange performed at Novo Nordisk Research and Development in Denmark.

"Novo Nordisk is the world leader in diabetes, and this initiative is of strategic importance both to them and to us," said Professor Anders Hamsten, vice-chancellor at Karolinska Institutet. "The agreement creates a unique opportunity for recruiting young diabetes researchers to Karolinska Institutet."

In a comment to the collaboration agreement, Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer at Novo Nordisk, said: "Together, we will train scientists in exploring basic diabetes research and translating this into new potential treatments for patients. Building upon the unique academic and clinical tradition at Karolinska Institutet and our company's excellence in research and development, the collaboration holds great potential to stimulate innovation and ultimately to improve the lives of the patients."

Novo Nordisk has research and development facilities in Denmark, US, China and India. More than 6,000 employees are involved in research and development activities, many of them working in partnerships with external biotech and academic researchers.

"This agreement is yet another example of Karolinska Institutet's ambition to strengthen collaboration with the business community, in this case Novo Nordisk, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the Nordic region," said Professor Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, dean of research at Karolinska Institutet.

A joint steering committee with members from both Karolinska Institutet and Novo Nordisk will oversee the programme and will be responsible for recruiting researchers.

The first four fellows in the programme are expected to start in the autumn of 2015.