Novo Nordisk has announced an investment of 8.5bn Danish kroner, or approximately $1.2bn, to establish a new rare disease production facility in Odense, Denmark.
Construction on the new site, which will include a production facility and warehouse, has begun and is scheduled to be completed in 2027, with the investment expected to eventually create 400 permanent jobs.
The modular and flexible facility will be designed to accommodate multiple product types within rare diseases, including drugs for the inherited blood disorder haemophilia.
Henrik Wulff, executive vice president, product supply, quality and IT of Novo Nordisk, said: “The facility will utilise advanced technology and innovative equipment to ensure the highest quality to patients and meet the growing global demand for our… medicines.
“We are proud to build on our heritage in Denmark and look forward to embarking on this journey in Odense, a well-connected city with a dynamic community and talented workforce.”
The announcement comes just two weeks after Novo unveiled plans to invest 2.9bn Danish kroner, approximately $407m, to establish a quality control laboratory in Denmark.
The laboratory in Hillerød, which is also expected to be completed in 2027, will serve as a central hub for quality control operations in the country and has been designed to comply with the demands of current and future Good Manufacturing Practice, and provide the flexibility to support future capacity expansions.
Erik Lorin Rasmussen, senior vice president of product supply, aseptic manufacturing, said at the time of the announcement: “As we expand our manufacturing capacity and anticipate new products to meet the growing global demand, this new quality control facility will play an important role in ensuring the quality of our products and position us to meet the evolving requirements of patients and regulators.”
The company also announced in June that it would be investing $4.1bn to build a second fill and finishing manufacturing facility in North Carolina, US and grow its ability to produce current and future injectable treatments for patients with obesity and other serious chronic diseases.
