The huge demand for the diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy means that Novo Nordisk has decided to invest billions of dollars in its production in the town of Clayton in the US state of North Carolina.

Specifically, according to a press release, the company has set aside USD 4.1bn to double the current factory space at the site.

The money will be used to build a second filling plant. The new buildings will have a total area of 130,000 square meters.

”This is another signal of our commitment to scale up our production to meet the growing global demand for our life-changing medicines and from patients of the future,” says Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, in a press release.

Novo expects the factory expansion to create permanent jobs for 1,000 employees in addition to the 2,500 already working at the site.

The new buildings will have solar panels on the roofs and water-saving installations that minimize the impact on the environment and climate.

Work is already underway to prepare for construction. It is expected that the new facilities will be gradually completed between 2027 and 2029.

Novo Nordisk has announced that it will invest DKK 45bn (USD 6.5bn) in production facilities in 2024 alone to meet the growing demand for its products.

The company also announced in February that it will acquire filling firm Catalent’s three existing filling plants in the US, Belgium and Italy from its owner foundation’s investment company Novo Holdings.

At the same time, Novo Nordisk is expanding its production in its home country, Denmark, with ongoing construction in both Hillerød and Kalundborg, and the green light to start up production near Odense.

English edit: Catherine Brett