Novo Nordisk to spice up output of Wegovy, Ozempic with latest NC facility

Novo Nordisk on Monday said it should spend $4.1 billion to construct a latest manufacturing plant in Clayton, North Carolina, in a bid to spice up the provision of its blockbuster weight reduction drug Wegovy, diabetes treatment Ozempic and other injectable therapies. 

Demand for Wegovy and Ozempic has outstripped supply during the last 12 months, spurring intermittent shortages within the U.S. and forcing the Danish drugmaker to take a position heavily to extend its manufacturing footprint. The corporate said it plans to take a position $6.8 billion in production this 12 months, up from roughly $4 billion last 12 months. 

The brand new manufacturing facility can be chargeable for filling and packaging syringes and injection pens for the drugs, in line with an organization release. 

“This investment really gives us the chance to serve more patients,” Doug Langa, Novo Nordisk’s head of North American operations, said in an interview. “Importantly, I feel the opposite key message here is it’s further investment within the U.S., so I feel we’re very happy with that.”

Construction of the 1.4 million-square-foot facility has begun and is anticipated to be accomplished between 2027 and 2029, Novo Nordisk said. The corporate said 1,000 employees will staff the positioning, adding to the two,500 employees already working at its three existing manufacturing plants in North Carolina. 

That features two sites which are already operational in Clayton — one chargeable for fill and finish work and one other dedicated to producing the lively ingredient in the corporate’s diabetes pill Rybelsus. The corporate also has a site in Durham, North Carolina, chargeable for manufacturing and packaging oral drugs and one other facility in West Lebanon, Recent Hampshire.

Twelve other production sites are positioned in Denmark, France, China, Japan, Algeria, Brazil, Iran and Russia, in line with a Novo Nordisk spokesperson.

Three lower doses of Wegovy are currently in shortage within the U.S. resulting from high demand, in line with a Food and Drug Administration database. Patients start Wegovy with lower doses and regularly increase the quantity every 4 weeks until they reach a goal dosage.

Wegovy and Ozempic are a part of a category of medicines called GLP-1s that mimic hormones produced within the gut to suppress an individual’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar.

Around 35,000 U.S. patients on average start Wegovy each week today, up from roughly 27,000 in May, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said in a press release. Still, Langa said the corporate is being “very purposeful” about what number of lower doses it’s releasing into the U.S. market to make sure patients who’ve already began taking Wegovy can proceed treatment with higher doses.

Rival drugmaker Eli Lilly has also committed billions of dollars to extend manufacturing capability for its popular GLP-1s for weight reduction and diabetes, Zepbound and Mounjaro. The corporate similarly has several production plants in North Carolina. 

Correction: Novo Nordisk’s existing facilities in Clayton, North Carolina, are chargeable for fill and finish work and for producing the lively ingredient in the corporate’s diabetes pill Rybelsus. A previous version of this story misstated those functions.