Novo Nordisk to Invest $400 Million in China

Bagsværd, Denmark (Nov. 7)-Novo Nordisk will invest nearly $400 million to build a new insulin plant in Tianjin, China. The plant has been designated Novo Nordisk’s primary production base in Asia-Pacific and will supply China and export markets. The company announced the investment at a ground-breaking ceremony in Tianjin.

“The new plant in Tianjin will become the world’s most modern insulin formulation and filling plant and is yet another example of the increasingly important role China is playing in Novo Nordisk’s global operations,” said Lars Rebien Sørensen, president and chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk, in a company press release.

The new plant is one of the largest investments in Novo Nordisk’s history, and is the company’s largest single investment outside Denmark. The plant will be built on a new 88,000-m² site next to its existing plant. Novo Nordisk’s first plant in Tianjin was built in 1996 and was expanded in 2002 and 2005.

The new plant is expected to be operational in 2012. Novo Nordisk’s insulin products such as “NovoMix” 20,  “NovoRapid,” and “Levemir,” will be formulated and filled at the plant.