Busy with the Growth of Obesity Drugs in a Danish Fishing Village... Novo Nordisk Raw Material Factory Construction 'Highly Focused'

Production of Semaglutide, the Ingredient for Wegovy and Ozempic
11 Trillion KRW Investment in Kalundborg, Denmark → Construction Progress
Covering Train Station Construction Costs, Massive Hiring of Workforce

As the popularity of the obesity treatment drug Wegovy and the diabetes treatment drug Ozempic soars, Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company and Europe's largest by market capitalization, is accelerating the establishment of a production network for key ingredients. The small Danish town, once a fishing village, is undergoing a major transformation centered around a core raw material production plant.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Bloomberg recently reported that the construction of Novo Nordisk's new plant is progressing rapidly in the outskirts of Kalundborg, central Denmark. Novo Nordisk is quickly building this facility to produce semaglutide, the active ingredient in its core products Wegovy and Ozempic. The facility is scheduled to begin operations and pharmaceutical production next year, with plant expansion continuing until 2029. The company plans to invest $8 billion (approximately 11 trillion KRW) for this purpose.

There are only two places worldwide producing semaglutide, the raw material used in Wegovy and Ozempic: the North Carolina plant in the United States and this new facility. In mid-last month, news of a rooftop fire at the Kalundborg construction site caused Novo Nordisk's market capitalization, the largest in Europe, to drop by nearly 3 billion KRW. This indicates that the market views semaglutide production as a critical issue for Novo Nordisk. Currently, Novo Nordisk's market capitalization stands at 619 trillion KRW (as of May 30).

Wegovy and Ozempic belong to the GLP-1 class of drugs. GLP-1 is a hormone produced when food is ingested that lowers blood sugar levels, suppresses appetite in the gastrointestinal tract, and slows the digestion of food. Bloomberg reported, "While U.S. pharmaceutical competitor Eli Lilly outsources GLP-1 drug manufacturing to external companies, Novo Nordisk maintains the entire production process of Wegovy and Ozempic in-house."

On the 16th of last month, a fire broke out at the construction site of the Novo Nordisk factory in Kalundborg, Denmark, with firefighters working to extinguish the blaze. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The market expects Novo Nordisk to record sales exceeding $26 billion this year. The craze for Wegovy has been fueled by endorsements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and famous Hollywood stars, drawing attention to Ozempic, the diabetes treatment drug, as well. Goldman Sachs forecasts that the obesity treatment market will expand to $100 billion by 2030, suggesting that Novo Nordisk's growth momentum is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Michael Holgren, Senior Vice President in charge of active ingredient production at Novo Nordisk, told Bloomberg, "Although the Kalundborg plant is scheduled to start operations next year, we are not sure if it will be able to meet the global demand for Wegovy and Ozempic." He added, "There are always initial problems when suddenly increasing production of something new. We will do our best to speed up and fully operate the plant."

The start of construction by Novo Nordisk has stirred up the town of about 16,000 residents. To ensure smooth progress of the construction, Novo Nordisk has funded the building of a new train station near the plant and is lobbying for a nearby highway. Once the plant construction is complete, efforts will also focus on developing residential complexes for employees working on-site.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Bloomberg also reported that Novo Nordisk is working hard to secure the workforce needed for the plant. The company hired 1,000 people in the area last year, and currently, about 4,500 workers are on-site. Considering the rapidly increasing demand for Wegovy and Ozempic, job creation is expected to continue. To this end, Novo Nordisk has established plans to secure talented personnel by collaborating with nearby universities and research institutes.

Vice President Holgren emphasized that delays in raw material production increase the risk of losing customers to competitors and stated that they are striving not to be overtaken. He also added that preparations are underway to enable the Kalundborg plant to produce other new drugs that have not yet been approved, in addition to Wegovy and Ozempic.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.