Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk announced plans to invest 8.5 billion Danish crowns ($1.2 billion) in a new facility in Odense, Denmark, dedicated to producing rare disease drugs.
The site will manufacture various therapies for rare diseases, including treatments for hemophilia, according to a statement released on Monday. In addition to a factory, the facility will include a warehouse to support operations.
Novo Nordisk, now Europe’s most valuable publicly listed company thanks to the success of its weight-loss injection Wegovy, acquired the 200-acre site in July. At the time, the company hinted at plans for a new plant but did not specify the type of drugs it would produce.
Earlier reports from Reuters, citing an environmental report Novo Nordisk submitted to Danish authorities in January, indicated the site would include facilities for “fill-finish” processes—used to fill injection pens. However, a company spokesperson clarified that while the factory will handle “finish” work such as packaging, it will not be involved in filling injection pens for drugs like Wegovy. The spokesperson emphasized that the facility will focus exclusively on rare disease treatments for the foreseeable future.
This marks Novo Nordisk’s first facility in Odense and its first new factory in Denmark in over two decades. Construction is already underway and is expected to conclude by 2027. Once operational, the facility will create 400 permanent jobs, with up to 1,000 external employees working on-site during the construction phase.
Novo Nordisk has announced several major investments this year, including a $4.1 billion plan to build a U.S. facility for filling injection pens for Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic.
Meanwhile, competition in the weight-loss drug market remains intense. In the UK, more Britons are opting for Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro when paying privately for obesity treatments.
