Novo Nordisk Invests Over $6 Billion to Boost Production Capacity

By Dominic Chopping

Novo Nordisk will invest over 42 billion Danish kroner ($6.01 billion) to boost manufacturing capacity in Kalundborg, Denmark, it said Friday.

Most of the new capacity will be dedicated to manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients, including for its blockbuster GLP-1 products for treating diabetes and obesity, which will increase the company's ability to meet future market demands.

Novo Nordisk has been struggling to meet surging demand for its GLP-1 drugs and has been forced to limit supply of lower-strength doses of its Wegovy weight-loss medicine in the U.S. as it seeks to safeguard supplies for current patients.

With the limited supply of Wegovy, obesity patients have been turning to Novo Nordisk's Ozempic diabetes drug as an alternative because both medications share the same active ingredient, which has also led to Ozempic shortages among patients who use it for treating their diabetes.

Construction of the new production facilities will be finalised gradually from the end of 2025 through 2029, it said.

Over the past two years, Novo Nordisk has announced DKK40 billion in production investments in Denmark. It has also added around 1,100 employees in production related to these investments. Earlier this year, it confirmed that it is awaiting approvals for a new production site on Funen, Denmark.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2023 02:09 ET (07:09 GMT)

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