Novo Nordisk’s new investment will expand its Kalundborg facilities to support the current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases, and create additional capacity, from manufacturing of API to packaging, including GLP-1 products
Expansion of production facilities to be completed in 2029. (Credit: Novo Nordisk A/S)
Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk has unveiled its plans to invest more than DKK42bn ($6bn) to expand its existing manufacturing facilities in Kalundborg, Denmark.
Novo Nordisk production facilities, established in Kalundborg in 1969, cover 1,600,000m2 of area. They produce obesity and diabetes products, along with other biopharmaceutical products.
The company invested over DKK18bn in the Kalundborg facilities until 2020 and announced additional DKK18bn investments in four new production and three existing facilities for 2021-22.
Novo Nordisk said that the new investment will expand its Kalundborg facilities to support the current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases.
It will create additional capacity, from manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to packaging, with the majority invested in API capacity.
The investment also includes GLP-1 products, enhancing its ability to meet future market demands through advanced technology and working environment, said the company.
Novo Nordisk product supply, quality and IT executive vice president Henrik Wulff said: “The significant investment announced today confirms the importance of utilising our existing sites, including in Denmark, as cornerstones for not only the growth we see but also to expand as fast as possible by utilising all the infrastructure, knowledge and competencies we already have.
“Our continued investment in global capacity demonstrates the belief we have in our current and future product portfolio and its relevance for people living with serious chronic diseases.”
Novo Nordisk will design its new API facility as a multi-product facility, with a new API facility covering 170,000m2 to support current and future processes.
The facility will be designed as a future-proof and cost-effective facility, with construction focused on delivering the highest quality in an efficient and environmentally sustainable way.
The construction projects will be finalised gradually from the end of 2025 through 2029, creating up to 3,000 external jobs during the construction phase.
Once the construction is completed, and the facilities are fully equipped, the projects are expected to create 8003 new jobs in the facilities.
Furthermore, Novo Nordisk said that it has made DKK 40bn in investments and added around 1,100 employees related to production in Denmark, over the past two years.
Last month, Novo Nordisk agreed to acquire ocedurenone, a drug for uncontrolled hypertension with potential application in cardiovascular and kidney disease, from KBP Biosciences for $1.3bn.