Novo Nordisk announces $4.1 billion investment to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity

In 2024, Novo Nordisk plans to increase its current investments, aiming to allocate $6.8 billion to production, a significant increase from the previous year’s investment of $3.9 billion* .

Bagsværd, Denmark, June 24, 2024 – Novo Nordisk today announced plans to invest US$4.1 billion (approximately DKK 27 billion) to build a second fill and finish manufacturing facility in Clayton, North Carolina, and expand its ability to produce current and future injectable treatments for people suffering from obesity and other serious chronic diseases.

Marking one of the largest manufacturing investments in Novo Nordisk’s history, the expansion will add 1.4 million square feet of production space for aseptic manufacturing and finished production processes, doubling the combined square footage of the company’s three existing facilities in North Carolina. It will also create 1,000 new jobs, in addition to the nearly 2,500 Novo Nordisk employees already working in the region, a hub of innovation and biotechnology in the United States.

“It took us a century to reach 40 million patients, but through this expansion and continued investment in our global manufacturing, we are strengthening Novo Nordisk’s ability to serve millions more people living with serious chronic illnesses across the world. the future,” said Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. , Chairman and CEO of Novo Nordisk. “This is another concrete signal of our efforts to increase our production to meet the growing global need for our life-changing medicines and the patients of tomorrow. »

Utilizing cutting-edge technology, rooftop solar panels and innovative water strategies, the facility is efficiently and environmentally sustainable designed to provide the highest quality products to patients around the world. The goal is to obtain LEED Gold certification, recognized as a standard of excellence in the construction of healthy, efficient, carbon- and cost-effective green buildings.

“Clayton was Novo Nordisk’s first manufacturing site in the United States, and this new large-scale investment confirms the continued importance of our production facilities there as cornerstones of our company’s growth,” said Henrik Wulff, Executive Vice President, Product Sourcing, Quality and IT, Novo Nordisk. “For decades, we have worked together to foster a well-trained, dedicated and diverse local workforce in North Carolina. At Clayton and across our global manufacturing sites, we are driven by one purpose: to deliver more to the millions of people living with chronic conditions – and this facility will help us do just that.

Initial clearing and foundation work is already underway to prepare the footprint of the 56-acre facility. Construction will be gradually finalized between 2027 and 2029. Around 2,000 external contractors will be engaged at the peak of the project.

“This is a historic day for Johnston County,” said Butch Lawter, chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, who at today’s press conference announced grants to the county for further support the expansion project. “Thirty-one years ago, Novo Nordisk decided to establish itself here in Clayton. Then, in 2016, they announced the construction of a new facility right across the street – the largest investment in life sciences ever recorded by the state at the time. Today, they’re breaking that record again…with a third facility, 1,000 new jobs, and a vote of confidence in the partnerships we’ve forged in the community over the decades.

In 2024, Novo Nordisk will increase its real investments in production and plans to invest around USD 6.8 billion (DKK 45 billion) in production, compared to real investments of USD 3.9 (DKK 26 billion) last year * to increase supply.

Visit novonordisk.com for photos and B-roll supporting this press release.

About the manufacturing of Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk has a global manufacturing facility with five strategic production sites located in Denmark, USA, France,
Brazil and China. All Novo Nordisk medicines are manufactured at these sites and then distributed to patients around the world. This includes the production of almost half of the world’s insulin, GLP-1 drugs to treat diabetes and obesity, and drugs to treat rare diseases such as hemophilia and growth disorders. Novo Nordisk’s manufacturing unit has nearly 20,000 employees dedicated to providing the highest quality to patients around the world, in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner.

About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our goal is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, building on our diabetes heritage. We do this by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs approximately 66,000 people in 80 countries and markets its products in approximately 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn And Youtube.

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*excluding acquisitions

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