LUNDBECK FOUNDATION 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
Falck In 2014, Falck continued its efforts to become a global provider of emergency and healthcare services. The company strengthened its position in its most important markets – Europe, Latin America and the United States – by winning new contracts and renewing existing ones. With growing activities throughout the year, Falck’s revenue increased by 11.3% to DKK 13,952 million. This was primarily attributed to organic growth, the merger with TryghedsGruppen’s healthcare companies, and acquisitions made by Falck’s Emergency business. Falck’s operating profit rose to DKK 1,139 million in 2014, an increase of DKK 27 million. This was achieved in spite of the drop in earnings experienced in Safety Services – whose business was impacted by the lower levels of activity in the oil industry.
Grants The profit generated by our commercial activities constitutes the basis for our grant contributions. In 2014, Lundbeck Foundation granted DKK 474 million to research with a connection to Denmark. A total of 349 grants were awarded, ranging from travel grants to large strategic grants to research groups collaborating on more extensive projects. In total, 643 researchers and technical staff had their salaries funded by our grants in 2014. The research we supported was mainly within biomedicine and other health-related areas. However, grants were also given to projects that aim to communicate science to a broader audience, and to projects that focus on improving the quality of science education. Young researchers continue to be a particular priority for the Foundation. We aim to motivate, inspire and acknowledge research talents, for example by awarding personal grants and honorary prizes – e.g. Lundbeck Foundation Fellowships, Lundbeck Foundation Research Prize for Young Scientists, and Talent Prizes. In 2014, six new Lundbeck Foundation Fellows were appointed. Each of them received a five-year grant of DKK 10 million to form independent research groups at Danish research institutions. In addition, we granted 34 PhD scholarships to individual scholars and 48 postdoc scholarships for research projects. In 2014, the project, iPSYCH received an additional grant of DKK 120 million. The project received a strategic grant of DKK 121 million from us back in 2011 – the largest grant ever awarded to Danish psychiatric research. The extension of funds allows iPSYCH to pursue its pioneering research into the mechanisms behind some of the major psychiatric diseases. The Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize – or The Brain Prize as it is popularly known – is an annual personal research prize awarded to 1-3 scientists who have made outstanding contributions to European brain research. With a total prize sum of EUR 1 million, this is the world’s largest personal prize in neuroscience. This year, The Brain Prize was given to three scientists who have provided extraordinary insights into reading skills, mathematical ability, motivations for behaviour and social interaction. 4
Board members and management In 2014, Christian Dyvig retired from his position as CEO of Lundbeck Foundation. During his period as CEO, the Foundation has undergone huge development, especially in its commercial activities. Mr. Dyvig has been the driving force in the modernisation of the Foundation, promoting the active ownership of Lundbeck, ALK and Falck as well as the in-house management of our investment portfolio. We wish to express our gratitude to Mr. Dyvig for his significant contribution to the development of Lundbeck Foundation. Mr. Dyvig was replaced by Lene Skole, former CFO of the Danish medico company, Coloplast A/S. In accordance with statute terms, Professor Mikael Rørth stepped down from the Board of Trustees in 2014. During his 12 years as board member, Mr. Rørth has contributed significantly to the Foundation’s development, focusing particularly on making our decision-making processes as transparent as possible and establishing international peer review of grant applications. Professor Rørth was replaced by Professor Susanne Krüger Kjær, MD, DMSc. At the Foundation’s Annual Meeting, new employee representatives were appointed to the Board of Trustees. The employees in the subsidiaries appointed Vagn Flink Møller Pedersen (Falck) and Henrik Sindal Jensen (Lundbeck); they replaced Kim Klitgaard (Lundbeck) and Ken Liljegren (Lundbeck). Peter Adler Würtzen (ALK) was reelected. We would like to welcome the new board members – and express our warm thanks to retiring board members for their important contribution to the Foundation.