Novo Nordisk has announced plans to invest approx DKK 27 billion to build a second fill and finishing manufacturing facility in Clayton, North Carolina, and grow its ability to produce current and future injectable treatments for people with obesity and other serious chronic diseases.

Marking one of the largest manufacturing investments in Novo Nordisk’s history, the expansion will add 1.4 million square feet of production space for aseptic manufacturing and finished production processes, doubling the combined square footage of all three of the company’s existing facilities in North Carolina.”

Marking one of the largest manufacturing investments in Novo Nordisk’s history, the expansion will add 1.4 million square feet of production space for aseptic manufacturing and finished production processes, doubling the combined square footage of all three of the company’s existing facilities in North Carolina.

“It took us a century to reach 40 million patients, but through this expansion and continued investment in our global production, we’re building Novo Nordisk’s ability to serve millions more people living with serious chronic diseases in the future,” says Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk. “This is yet another real signal of our efforts to scale up our production to meet the growing global need for our life-changing medicines and the patients of tomorrow.”

1,000 new jobs

It will also add 1,000 new jobs, besides the nearly 2,500 Novo Nordisk employees already working in the region, a central hub for innovation and biotechnology in the United States.

“Clayton was the first manufacturing site for Novo Nordisk in the US, and this new, large-scale investment confirms the continued importance of our production facilities there as cornerstones of our company’s growth,” says Henrik Wulff, executive vice president, Product Supply, Quality & IT, Novo Nordisk. “For decades, we have partnered to foster a well-trained, dedicated and diverse local workforce in North Carolina. In Clayton and across our global manufacturing sites, we are driven by one purpose: to deliver more for the millions of people living with chronic diseases – and this facility will help us achieve just that.”

Construction will gradually be finalized between 2027 and 2029

Construction will gradually be finalized between 2027 and 2029. Around 2,000 external contractors will be engaged at the height of the project.

In 2024, Novo Nordisk will increase actual investments in production and plans to invest approx USD 6.8 billion (DKK 45 billion) in production compared to actual investments of USD 3.9 (DKK 26 billion) last year to increase supply, it states.

Photo of Henrik Wulff, executive vice president, Product Supply, Quality & IT, Novo Nordisk