Novo Nordisk's new manufacturing facility in Clayton, North Carolina.
Courtesy of Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk announced Monday that the company would invest $4.1 billion to build a new manufacturing facility in Clayton, North Carolina, to increase supply of its successful weight-loss drug Wegovy, diabetes drug Ozempic and other injectable therapies.
Demand for Wegovy and Ozempic exceeded supply last year, leading to temporary shortages in the US and forcing the Danish pharmaceutical company to invest heavily in expanding its production capacity. The company announced it would invest $6.8 billion in production this year, up from around $4 billion last year.
The new production facility will be responsible for filling and packaging syringes and injection pens for the medications, according to a company press release.
“This investment really gives us the opportunity to serve more patients,” Doug Langa, head of Novo Nordisk's North American business, said in an interview. “The other important message, I think, is that this is further investment in the U.S., and I think we're very proud of that.”
Construction of the 1.3 million square meter facility has already begun and is expected to be completed between 2027 and 2029, Novo Nordisk said. The company said 1,000 workers will be employed at the construction site, in addition to the 2,500 employees already employed at its three existing manufacturing facilities in North Carolina.
These include two sites in Clayton that are already operational – one responsible for filling and finishing, the other for manufacturing the active ingredient for the diabetes drug Rybelsus. The company also has a site in Durham, North Carolina, responsible for manufacturing and packaging oral medications, and another facility in West Lebanon, New Hampshire.
More health reports from CNBC
Twelve other production sites are located in Denmark, France, China, Japan, Algeria, Brazil, Iran and Russia, according to a Novo Nordisk spokesman.
According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration database, three lower doses of Wegovy are currently in short supply in the U.S. due to high demand. Patients start with a lower dose of Wegovy and gradually increase the amount every four weeks until they reach the target dose.
Wegovy and Ozempic belong to a class of drugs called GLP-1, which mimic hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person's appetite and regulate their blood sugar.
Today, an average of about 35,000 U.S. patients are starting to take Wegovy each week, up from about 27,000 in May, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said in a statement. Still, Langa said the company is being “very intentional” about the number of lower doses it brings to the U.S. market to ensure patients who have already started taking Wegovy can continue treatment with higher doses.
Competing pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has also invested billions of dollars to increase manufacturing capacity for its popular GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes products, Zepbound and Mounjaro. The company also has several manufacturing facilities in North Carolina.
Don't miss these insights from CNBC PRO
Correction: Novo Nordisk's existing facilities in Clayton, North Carolina, are responsible for filling and finishing as well as manufacturing the active ingredient for the company's diabetes drug Rybelsus. An earlier version of this story misstated those functions.
