Hot on the heels of its popularity over weight-loss drug Wegovy, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is to invest £1.8 billion to expand a production facility in Denmark for products to treat serious chronic diseases, the company said in a statement on Monday (June 12).
However, the company has clarified that the current expansion is not for the production of semaglutide, the key ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, which treat diabetes and weight-loss respectively.
The facility in Bagsvaerd, Denmark produces active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the main biologically active components of medicines, and will be expanded to produce material for both current and future products.
Novo has faced major supply constraints of semaglutide after it was overwhelmed by massive demand for Wegovy during its launch in the United States in 2021, and has invested heavily to increase the supply.
Last month, the firm said it would ration the supply of starter doses for Wegovy in the U.S. to cope with demand.
Construction of the new facility is underway and it is expected to start producing API by early 2029.
"This important investment will ensure the continuous development of our late-phase pipeline into deliveries of important medicines for treatments to patients worldwide," Novo's head of product supply, quality and IT, Henrik Wulff, said in a statement.
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