Noklus

What Noklus does

Noklus (legal name: Norsk kvalitetsforbedring av laboratorieundersøkelser) is a Norwegian non-profit foundation established on September 1, 1992, and headquartered in Bergen at Ulriksdal 8c, Haraldsplass Diakonale Sykehus. The organization was founded at the initiative of the Norwegian Medical Association in response to documented poor quality in primary-care laboratory services. It operates a decentralized model with approximately 100 employees distributed across 23+ local offices throughout Norway, including laboratory consultants (laboratorierådgivere) and medical specialists (legespesialister) embedded in regional healthcare ecosystems.

The organization delivers external quality assessment (EQA) for medical laboratory examinations across Norway's healthcare system. Core products include: external quality control programs with approximately 52 annual shipments and 40,000+ total dispatches; the Min side digital participant portal for procedure access, e-learning, result registration, and certificates; the Norwegian Diabetes Register for Adults, with diabetes forms integrated into six major EMR systems (Infodoc Plenario, Infodoc cloud, CGM Allmenn, CGM Online, Pridok, WebMed) and the Pasientsky patient portal; NOPAM (Noklus Patient Median) for patient-based external quality assessment using routine patient results; SKUP, providing vendor-independent evaluation of point-of-care testing equipment; and a growing library of e-learning courses. The participant base spans 3,600+ healthcare facilities including 99% of Norwegian GP offices, 907 nursing homes, approximately 400 home care units, 103 emergency clinics, all hospital laboratories, and educational institutions.

Noklus is funded primarily through Norwegian government appropriations rather than commercial pricing. The Stortinget (Norwegian Parliament) approved a 7.8 million NOK allocation for 2023 and has proposed 8.7 million NOK for 2026 specifically for the home care services project. The organization serves as a national quality improvement mission with no commercial revenue model, governed by a board representing the Norwegian Medical Association, the state (Helse Nord-Norge RHF, Helsedirektoratet), Norsk selskap for medisinsk biokjemi, and Kommunesektorens organisasjon. In September 2025, Aasne Karine Aarsand succeeded founder Sverre Sandberg as director after his 33-year tenure.

Name

Noklus

Legal name

Norsk kvalitetsforbedring av laboratorieundersøkelser

Website

https://noklus.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Noklus is a Norwegian non-profit foundation operating external quality assessment programs for medical laboratory examinations, serving 3,600+ healthcare facilities including 99% of Norway's GP offices, nursing homes, home care services, and hospital laboratories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Laboratory Quality Assurance

NAICS

Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAGAKAK

Laboratory Quality & GLP/GCLP Compliance

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Compliance Services (GxP)

SECONDARYHLACAMAH

Quality Management & Regulatory Compliance (CLIA/CAP/ISO) for Labs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Digital Health & Health IT/Laboratory Information Systems (LIS/LIMS) & Pathology Informatics

SECONDARYHLAGAKAE

GxP Audits & Supplier Qualification (GMP/GCP/GLP/GDP)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Compliance Services (GxP)

Keywords

• External quality assessment
• Medical laboratory quality
• Point-of-care testing
• Clinical chemistry programs
• Healthcare quality assurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices23 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Noklus is a foundation receiving government funding to perform its national quality improvement mission for medical laboratory examinations in Norway. The organization also receives project-specific funding such as 7.8 million NOK from Stortinget for home care services project.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Noklus is a non-profit foundation that delivers external quality assessment (EQA) programs for medical laboratory examinations across Norway. It distributes quality control materials to participants, provides an online portal (Min side) for result registration and reporting, supplies laboratory procedures, offers e-learning courses and on-site training, and maintains the Norwegian Diabetes Register for Adults. Approximately 52 control shipments per year reach 3,600+ participants including GP offices, nursing homes, home care services, and hospital laboratories.

Product overview

Noklus operates as a comprehensive quality improvement organization for medical laboratory examinations in Norway, offering a unified platform combining external quality assurance programs, the Norwegian Diabetes Register, instrument evaluation (SKUP), e-learning, and digital tools. The core offering includes external quality control programs where participants receive and analyze control materials, complemented by the Min side digital portal providing e-learning courses, laboratory procedures, and result reporting. Key products include the National Diabetes Register with EMR-integrated forms (Infodoc, CGM, Pridok, WebMed, Pasientsky), NOPAM patient median monitoring, and self-control programs for anticoagulation treatment. The organization provides approximately 52 control shipments annually to 3,600+ participants including GP offices, nursing homes, home care services, and hospital laboratories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Norsk diabetesregister for voksne: Norwegian Diabetes Register for Adults - a national register for monitoring and improving diabetes care quality in Norway
• SKUP
• NOPAM
• Min side

Quantifiable outcome

• From ~20% 'poor' glucose results in 1993 to ~2% today
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRCPAQAP received federal government project funding to develop a quality assurance system for point-of-care testing in Australia, following Noklus's model. Noklus hosted expert Andrew St. John in June 2026 to share experiences and provide guidance for the Australian initiative.
• BiopixminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiopix, a Greek company developing PNA instruments (Pebble and Pixl) for virus detection, is collaborating with Noklus in the EU UniHealth project for pandemic preparedness. Noklus evaluates the analytical quality and user-friendliness of Biopix instruments.
• SKUP (Skandinavisk utprøving av laboratorieutstyr for pasientnær analysering)coreOthersSKUP provides objective, vendor-independent evaluation of analytical quality and user-friendliness of point-of-care testing equipment in Scandinavia. Part of Noklus's offerings for equipment guidance.
• Helsedirektoratet (Norwegian Directorate of Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNoklus collaborates with the Directorate on national health initiatives, including diabetes care guidelines and screening programs.
• Folkehelseinstituttet (Norwegian Institute of Public Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on public health matters including infectious disease testing and national health programs.
• Blodbanken ved Haukeland universitetssykehusminorOthersBlood bank assists with production of control materials, particularly for hemoglobin quality control.
• European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNoklus actively participates in international forums developing quality improvement measures for hospitals and private laboratories. Anne Stavelin was elected to EFLM board in 2025.
• Antibiotikasenteret for primærmedisinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on antibiotic stewardship and appropriate use of laboratory tests to combat antibiotic resistance.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• RCPAQAP (Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs): Australia's leading EQA provider for medical laboratories. Directly comparable to Noklus because RCPAQAP explicitly modeled its point-of-care testing QA program on Noklus, and both serve as national non-profit/government-aligned EQA organizations for GP and hospital labs.
• INSTAND e.V. German non-profit society providing external quality assessment for medical laboratories across all major disciplines. Directly comparable to Noklus as a European national EQA organization offering proficiency testing, interlaboratory comparisons, and reference material distribution to hospital and non-hospital labs.
• Equalis AB: Swedish external quality assessment organization for clinical laboratories. Directly comparable to Noklus as a Scandinavian EQA peer providing proficiency testing, EQA programs, and quality development services to healthcare laboratories within a similar Nordic healthcare-system context.
• Labquality: Finnish non-profit external quality assessment provider serving Nordic and European laboratories. Directly comparable to Noklus as a Nordic regional EQA peer with similar service scope — proficiency testing, EQA schemes, and quality indicator programs — and close geographic adjacency that creates head-to-head competition.
• UK NEQAS: United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service is one of the world's largest EQA providers covering a wide range of laboratory disciplines. Directly comparable to Noklus because both deliver external quality control programs, proficiency testing, and EQA education to hospital and primary care laboratories in a single national healthcare system.
• WEQAS: Welsh External Quality Assurance Service providing EQA programs for clinical laboratories in the UK and internationally. Directly comparable to Noklus as a non-profit EQA organization offering proficiency testing, education, and quality improvement services across multiple laboratory disciplines.

Broad incumbents

• College of American Pathologists (CAP): US-based global leader in laboratory accreditation, proficiency testing, and EQA programs. Comparable to Noklus as an EQA/proficiency testing provider, but operates at much greater scale, serves international participants, and offers a broader portfolio including accreditation, surveys, and quality improvement tools.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Global life science and clinical diagnostics company operating a major EQA/proficiency testing division (Bio-Rad Unity). Comparable to Noklus as a commercial EQA provider, but operates at much larger scale with global reach, integrated QC products, and broader software/data analytics offerings beyond non-profit scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Noklus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/noklus

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Noklus