STOCKHOLM, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Denmark's Novo Nordisk launched a joint research project focusing on diabetes and metabolism on Tuesday.

A total of 12 post-doctoral scientists will be funded for a three-year period, with most of the research to be carried out at the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Stockholm. Some of the work will also be done in Denmark at the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.

"Novo Nordisk is a world leader within diabetes research and insulin medication and this project is strategically significant for them and for us," professor Anders Hamsten, vice-chancellor at Karolinska Institute, said in a statement.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Novo Nordisk's executive vice president and chief science officer, said that, as part of the project, scientists would be trained in basic diabetes research with the aim of developing new potential treatments for patients.

A steering committee made up of representatives from Karolinska and Novo Nordisk will recruit scientists and oversee the program, the statement said. The first four scientists should start their work in the fall of 2015.