Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen

What Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen does

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (CPR) is a university research center at the University of Copenhagen, founded in 2007 and organized into five research programs — Proteomics, Protein Signaling, Protein Structure & Function, Protein Memory, and Disease Systems Biology — each backed by dedicated technology platforms. Its core facilities include a mass spectrometry platform (Q Exactive HF-x, Orbitrap Fusion Lumos), the Danish Cryo-EM National Facility (Titan Krios G2 with nodes at Copenhagen and Aarhus), a Genomics Platform, a Protein Imaging Platform (HCM, QIBC, AiryScan, STED), a Protein Production and Characterization Platform, and a Big Data Management Platform co-located with the Danish Life-Science Supercomputer Computerome. The center's outputs include high-throughput proteomics, structural biology, chromatin and epigenome research, multi-omics data integration, and freely available scientific tools such as the STRING database, Clinical Knowledge Graph, Disease Trajectory Browser, SignalP 5.0, TAGGER, and VAMB.

CPR is led by Executive Director Jesper Velgaard Olsen and Research Directors Matthias Mann, Niels Mailand, Anja Groth, and Guillermo Montoya, with Jiri Lukas serving as a former Executive Director and current group leader. The center operates exclusively as a non-commercial academic entity; it does not sell products or services and has no disclosed pricing. Its customers are research collaborators across academic, healthcare, and pharmaceutical segments — including the University of Copenhagen community, Herlev Hospital / CCIT-DK, the Danish Cancer Institute, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Hubrecht Institute Utrecht, and Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry — accessed via collaborative research agreements, service applications, and core facility access portals. Operating geographies are anchored in Denmark (Europe) with substantive global research collaborations.

The center is funded primarily through the Novo Nordisk Foundation and competitive grants from bodies including the European Research Council (e.g., €2.5M ERC Advanced Grant to Niels Mailand in 2026, €2.4M portion of a €10.1M ERC Synergy Grant to Jesper V. Olsen in 2025) and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Its business model is grant-funded academic research with no direct revenue streams. As of March 2025, CPR is organizationally part of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and in October 2025 it launched the Copenhagen Center for Glycocalyx Research as a new research center under its umbrella.

Name

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen

Legal name

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen

Website

https://cpr.ku.dk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (CPR) at the University of Copenhagen is a non-commercial academic research center running five programs in proteomics, protein signaling, structure, chromatin, and disease systems biology, backed by core facilities in mass spectrometry, cryo-EM, genomics, and imaging, and serving academic, clinical, and pharmaceutical collaborators worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Proteomics and Protein Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Services (HLAGANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Proteomics & Biomarker Analytical Testing (HLAGADAG), Translational Medicine & Biomarkers (HLAIALAF), Transcriptomics & Gene Expression Profiling Services (HLAGANAE), Molecular Diagnostics (PCR/qPCR, NGS-based assays) (HLAAALAA)

Keywords

• Academic proteomics research
• Mass spectrometry services
• Cryo-electron microscopy
• Protein structural biology
• Computational biology tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CPR conducts basic and translational research in protein biology, organized into research programs and core facilities that provide mass spectrometry, cryo-EM, protein production, biophysics, and computational biology services. Its outputs include scientific discoveries, peer-reviewed publications, trained researchers, and access to advanced protein-research technologies for the academic and biomedical community.

Product overview

Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (CPR) is an academic research center organized around five research programs (Proteomics, Protein Signaling, Protein Structure & Function, Protein Memory, and Disease Systems Biology), each supported by corresponding technology platforms. Core facilities include Mass Spectrometry, Cryo-EM, Genomics, Protein Imaging, Protein Production and Characterization, and Big Data Management. CPR also develops and freely provides scientific tools to the research community, including STRING database, Clinical Knowledge Graph, Disease Trajectory Browser, SignalP, TAGGER, and VAMB. The center focuses on protein research using mass spectrometry, structural biology, and computational approaches to understand disease mechanisms and develop biomarkers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Copenhagen Center for Glycocalyx Research: A new research center opened on October 9, 2025, focused on glycocalyx research
• Danish Cryo-EM Facility
• CPR Core Facilities

Products and services

• Mass Spectrometry Proteomics Services High-resolution mass spectrometry-based proteomics analyses provided to academic and translational researchers for protein identification, quantification, and interaction studies.
• Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) Services Cryo-EM imaging and structure determination services for proteins and protein complexes, supporting structural biology research.
• Protein Production and Purification Services Recombinant protein expression, purification, and characterization services to supply high-quality proteins for structural and biochemical studies.
• Biophysics Characterization Services Biophysical instrumentation and expertise for characterizing protein stability, interactions, and dynamics.
• Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Services Bioinformatics pipelines and computational biology support for proteomics and structural biology data analysis and interpretation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deep proteome coverage of more than 12,000 different protein-coding genes in approximately one day of measurements
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Herlev Hospital / National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-DK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Collaboration on cancer research including melanoma and immune cell interaction studies. CPR's Olsen Group works with CCIT-DK researchers including MD Marco Donia to study how cancer and immune system interact at molecular level using mass spectrometry-based proteomics.
• The Danish Cancer Institute (DCI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Collaborative research on DNA repair mechanisms and chromatin structure. CPR researchers including Susanne Bantele and Jiri Lukas from Chromosome Stability and Dynamics Group collaborated with DCI researchers including Nils Krietenstein on DNA repair and chromatin fatigue research published in Science.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical SciencesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024International collaboration on Mrc1 protein research and DNA replication mechanisms. Part of broader international collaboration including Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht.
• Hubrecht Institute in UtrechtsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024International research collaboration on replisome component Mrc1's dual function in mediating epigenetic memory, working with structural biologists at CPR and researchers in Tokyo.
• Max Delbrück Center for Molecular MedicinesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Former CPR postdoc Fabian Coscia (Mann group) received ERC Starting Grant for Deep Spatial Proteomics project at this Helmholtz Association institution, continuing collaboration from CPR research.
• Twelve BiosupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Spin-off company from Montoya Group developing CRISPR-Cas12a variants for therapeutic applications identified through structural biology research at CPR.
• Odense University Hospital (OUH) and University of Southern DenmarksupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Collaboration on alcohol-related liver disease research. Clinical studies at OUH's FLASH Center for Liver Research provided samples for mass spectrometry-based biomarker discovery study published in Nature Medicine.
• Chan Zuckerberg InitiativesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Mann Group received Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funding to support Human Cell Atlas project through deep visual proteomics pipeline development. CZI awarded USD 68 million total to 38 projects including this collaborative effort.
• Novo Nordisk Foundation Centers (MicrobLiver consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaboration within Novo Nordisk Foundation supported research consortium including CPR, NNF Center for Metabolic Research, and Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry for liver disease biomarker research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Direct peers

• European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI): Hosts major biological databases and bioinformatics tools that overlap with CPR's STRING and knowledge-graph offerings. EMBL-EBI is the natural counterpart for CPR's Big Data Management Platform and scientific tools.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental research organization running comparable structural biology, proteomics, and bioinformatics services. EMBL's sites (Heidelberg, Hinxton/EBI) host parallel technology platforms and serve a similar international academic user base.
• Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich: Runs proteomics, metabolomics, and systems biology research in an academic setting. Comparable headcount, technology-platform model, and focus on quantitative molecular analysis of disease.
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Operates one of the largest proteomics and chemical biology platforms globally with a focus on clinical and translational applications. Comparable in scale of technology platforms (mass spectrometry, cryo-EM, imaging) and disease-biomarker focus.
• Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry: World-leading proteomics and structural biology institute in Martinsried, Germany. Matthias Mann is also affiliated with MPI of Biochemistry, and the two share core methods in mass spectrometry-based proteomics, making MPI a direct functional peer.
• The Scripps Research Institute: Runs large-scale proteomics and chemical biology research with a strong translational orientation. Comparable mix of platform technologies (mass spectrometry, structural biology) and disease-focused research programs.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: UK-based genomics and cellular biology research center running high-throughput sequencing, single-cell, and proteomics pipelines for disease research. Comparable funding model (foundation-backed), scale (~hundreds of researchers), and translational mission.
• Leiden University Medical Center – Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics: European proteomics service center with clinical biomarker discovery programs. Comparable in offering mass-spec-based proteomics services and clinical collaborations, though smaller in scale than CPR.
• The Francis Crick Institute: Large biomedical discovery institute in London with structural biology, proteomics and cryo-EM facilities. Similar mix of core technology platforms, international research groups, and foundation/government funding streams.

Emerging players

• Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington: Academic center focused on computational protein design and structural biology. Overlaps with CPR's Protein Structure & Function Program and cryo-EM capability, though with a distinct de novo protein-design mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-novo-nordisk-foundation-center-for-protein-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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