Novo Nordisk is investing DKK 16 billion ($2.3 billion) over the next four years to expand its production site in Chartres, France, for its current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases. 

The investment will increase the capacity of the manufacturing site by adding aseptic production and finished production capacity and expanding the company’s current quality-control laboratory. The investment includes capacity for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) products. The Chartres site now employs around 1,600 people, and the production facility manufactures products to treat diabetes. Novo’s GLP-1 products include the diabetes drug, Ozempic (semaglutide). 

The new facilities will more than double the footprint of the site. The facility will be designed as a multi-product facility to accommodate current and future processes. The construction project has now been initiated and will gradually be finalized from 2026 to 2028. The investment is expected to create more than 500 new jobs to run production activities 24/7 when the construction is completed, and the facilities are finalized. 

This is a second major investment by the company to increase production capacity for products in its chronic disease portfolio, including GLP-1 products. Earlier this month (November 2023), the company announced an investment of more than DNK 42 billion ($6.1 billion) starting in 2023 to expand existing manufacturing facilities in Kalundborg, Denmark, for additional capacity across the value chain from manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to packaging, with the vast majority invested in API capacity. The new API facility will be designed as a multi-product facility, with flexibility to accommodate current and future processes. The facility will have a footprint of 170,000 m². The construction projects will be finalized gradually from the end of 2025 through 2029.  

Source: Novo Nordisk