Danish company Novo Nordisk announced the restructure of its Research & Development (R&D) organisation, an effort that shall laid off approximately 400 employees from R&D roles in Denmark and China. The company will establish four Transformational Research Units in 2018 to pursue novel treatment modalities and platform technologies. The biotech-like units, based in Denmark, the US and the UK, will operate as satellites of Novo Nordisk’s central R&D function working on priority fields such as translational cardio-metabolic research and stem cell research. Novo Nordisk will also significantly invest in automation and digital capabilities, including machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). A new Business Development unit in Cambridge, MA, (US) shall also be created in order to facilitate the identification and pursuit of new therapeutic approaches based on external collaborations.