Pharma company keeps pace with rise of diabetes

Novo Nordisk is set to create a new $1.8 billion diabetes-drug production facility in Clayton, N.C.

In August 2015, the pharmaceutical company announced that it planned to invest $2 billion into production facilities in Clayton; Malov, Denmark; and Kalundborg, Denmark, with $1.8 billion being invested in the Clayton plant.

The purpose of the new facility is to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for a range of Novo Nordisk’s current and future GLP-1 and insulin drugs. The DAPI-US (Diabetes Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients-US) is expected to guarantee production capacity for diabetes medications in the United States for at least the decade ahead.

“Diabetes rates in the United States are on the rise. More than 29 million Americans have this serious disease. Once fully operational in 2020, the Clayton facility will ensure production capacity for diabetes medicines in the United States for the decade ahead,” Marisa Sharkey, manager, corporate & media relations, Novo Nordisk, told FormularyWatch.

The Clayton plant will measure 833,000 square feet and have a footprint of 417,639 square feet, which is equivalent to approximately 7 football fields. The new site is situated adjacent to Novo Nordisk’s existing 457,000-square-foot facility, which assembles and packages FlexPen and FlexTouch prefilled insulin devices for the US market.

Approximately 700 new jobs will be created with the new facility, with an average salary that is $68,000-$22,000 higher than the current average salary, and $15,000 more than the median household income in Johnston County, North Carolina. The project will provide significant employment during the construction period with up to 2,500 people needed to work during peak construction.  

It will be completed and fully operational in 2020.