NC State, Danish university expand biotech research, education

North Carolina State University is bolstering its global reach through an expanded partnership for biotechnology research and education with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

In a news release, DTU said it would expand the exchange of researchers and students between the two institutions. NC State and DTU - which have been working together on biotech research and development - are creating new opportunities for continuing education and greater collaboration with DTU’s new master’s program in biomanufacturing, DTU said.

A team from NC State, led by Chancellor Randy Woodson, visited DTU this year, signing a strategic partnership agreement with the Danish university to expand collaboration on global issues such as renewable energy. That trip also included visits with NC State partners in the Czech Republic.

“NC State has a strong biotech profile, just like DTU, and we’re working together on an increasing number of projects,” said DTU Senior Vice President Carsten Orth Gaarn-Larsen. “By linking DTU’s strong Danish biotech environment with the US counterpart, I believe that we can develop innovative biotechnological solutions with global impact and give DTU’s researchers and students an even greater international outlook.”

The expanded collaboration is the latest effort by the two universities to team up on biopharma manufacturing research since the start of a five-year, $27 million grant awarded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2019. That grant established Accelerated Innovation in Manufacturing Biologics, or AIM-Bio, a project between the two universities administered by NC State.

Through AIM-Bio, NC State and DTU work together to develop technologies to improve the effectiveness and reduce the cost of new biopharma products.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation holds a controlling interest in Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which has manufacturing facilities in Clayton and Durham for diabetes and obesity medicines.