Exhibit 12.1
CERTIFICATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
IN FORM 20-F FOR 2004
In the Form 20-F for 2004 I have certified that:
1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Novo Nordisk;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of
a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of
the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The company's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over
financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and
15d-15(f) for the company and have:
(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
ensure that material information relating to the company, including its
consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
prepared;
(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our
supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for
external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles;
NOVO NORDISK A/S Novo Alle Telephone: Internet:
2880 Bagssvaerd +45 4444 8888 www.novonordisk.com
Denmark CVR Number:
24 25 67 90
(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the company's disclosure controls
and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of
the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the company's internal
control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by
the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, the company's internal control over financial reporting;
and
5. The company's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on
our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
the company's auditors and the audit committee of the company's board of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
process, summarize and report financial information; and
(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
other employees who have a significant role in the company's internal
control over financial reporting.
Date: 21 February 2005
/s/ Lars Rebien Sorensen
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[Lars Rebien Sorensen]
[President and CEO]