Novo Nordisk has announced plans to invest $4.1 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. It will also add 1,000 new jobs, besides the nearly 2,500 Novo Nordisk employees already working in the region.
“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,” said 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.”
Utilising state-of-the-art technology, roof-top solar panels and innovative water strategies, the facility is designed in an efficient and environmentally sustainable way. The goal is to obtain LEED Gold certification, recognised as a standard of excellence in constructing healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings.
Early clearing and foundational work are already underway to prepare the 56-acre facility footprint. Construction will gradually be finalized between 2027 and 2029. Around 2,000 external contractors will be engaged at the height of the project.
