George Godfrey Named Novo Nordisk UK Medical Lead
Novo Nordisk UK has appointed former AstraZeneca UK executive George Godfrey as its Senior Director of Medical and Regulatory.
Based in Gatwick, West Sussex, Novo Nordisk UK is the British affiliate of Danish healthcare giant Novo Nordisk, and shares its clinical focus on diabetes, obesity and other serious chronic diseases.
The company also operates a research and development centre in Oxford, which focuses on identifying novel therapies for patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases.
“I’m very excited to be starting at Novo Nordisk as Senior Director of Medical and Regulatory”, says George. “Working as a physician, you see the unmet needs many patients face first-hand, day in, day out.
“Our industry has the opportunity to bring scientific advances to patients to try to change these realities, and in our field of medical and regulatory, we are privileged to work so closely to the groundbreaking science that sits behind that.”
“Working as a physician, you see the unmet needs many patients face first-hand, day in, day out. Our industry has the opportunity to bring scientific advances to patients to try to change these realities. ”
Two decades of experience
George brings over two decades of medical and leadership experience across the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors to Novo Nordisk UK.
At AstraZeneca UK, he served as Head of Medical for Respiratory and Immunology, leading multidisciplinary medical teams. He previously spent two years in Switzerland as AstraZeneca’s Regional Medical Director for Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism across Europe and Canada.
Prior to AstraZeneca, George served as a Medical Advisor in Boehringer Ingelheim's Cardiometabolic and Diabetes divisions – experience that will transfer well to Novo Nordisk’s therapeutic focus areas.
- Diabetes: Developing treatments and supporting improvements in diabetes care.
- Obesity: Expanding access to GLP-1 medicines across the UK.
- Cardiometabolic health: Addressing interconnected chronic diseases.
- Regulation: Navigating an evolving UK medicines landscape.
- Sustainability: Supporting efforts to reduce healthcare’s environmental impact.
Decarbonising healthcare
George has also been a vocal advocate and practioner of healthcare decarbonisation in the UK.
Speaking at the “Decarbonising the NHS” conference in June 2026, George explored how innovative care models and proactive prevention can help reduce healthcare’s carbon footprint.
Describing several initiatives implemented by his respiratory division at AstraZeneca, George discussed using inhaler propellants with lower global warming potential, reducing emergency admissions and their associated carbon footprint, as well as using a modelling tool to assess the environmental impact of patient journeys across disease areas and geographies.
He also highlighted opportunities to strengthen partnerships around shared sustainability goals, future pilots and collaborative approaches with NHS stakeholders.
Evolving regulation
George’s appointment comes as the UK’s healthcare system enters a new phase of GLP-1 medicine deployment for obesity and cardiometabolic disease.
NHS England is taking a phased approach to introducing tirzepatide into primary care, initially prioritising a cohort of around 220,000 patients with the highest clinical need as it builds the capacity and infrastructure required to support wider access.
For Novo Nordisk, the UK is an important market for semaglutide. In April 2026, NHS England said around 1.2 million people with cardiovascular disease could ultimately be eligible for Wegovy to help reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.
Outside the NHS, the UK’s GLP-1 regulatory landscape is also evolving rapidly, with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approving Novo Nordisk’s oral pill for weight management in June 2026.
In August 2026, the UK became the first European country to authorise Eli Lilly’s Foundayo for weight management and type 2 diabetes.
With new treatments entering the market, medical and regulatory leadership will become increasingly important to Novo Nordisk UK as access and use cases widen.
Key Novo Nordisk partners
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
CEO: Matt Garman | HQ: Seattle, Washington
In August 2026, Novo Nordisk and AWS entered a strategic partnership focused on advancing AI-powered drug discovery. AWS will provide cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities, complementing Novo Nordisk’s scientific expertise, data and research platforms to support the faster and broader discovery and development of new medicines.
Aspect Biosystems
CEO: Tamer Mohamed | HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Novo Nordisk is working with Aspect Biosystems to advance cellular therapies for diabetes, combining Aspect’s 3D bioprinting technology with Novo Nordisk’s expertise in cell therapy. The partnership expanded in 2026, with Aspect assuming responsibility for development, manufacturing and commercialisation while securing access to selected Novo Nordisk technologies.
Vivtex
CEO: Thomas von Erlach | HQ: Boston, Massachusetts
Novo Nordisk and Vivtex joined forces in 2026 to explore new oral biologic treatments for obesity, diabetes and related conditions. Under the agreement, Vivtex will license its proprietary drug-delivery technology, which is designed to enhance peptide and protein absorption. The partnership has a potential value of up to US$2.1bn, with Novo Nordisk overseeing global development and commercialisation.
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George Godfrey
Head of Medical, Respiratory and Immunology
