Novo Nordisk will invest $22m (€19m) in new production lines at its Clayton plant, where the firm conducts formulation, filling, inspection, assembly and packaging of diabetes and obesity medicines.
The expansion, which will add 22 jobs to the site, is due to be completed in 2020.
The announcement comes 10 months after announcing a $65m boost in production capacity at the same site, and follows a $2bn investment across the drugmaker’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and production plants in Clayton, US, and Måløv, Denmark, in 2015.
County support
Johnston County, home to Novo Nordisk’s Clayton facility, is supporting the investments via a seven-year package of financial incentives for the Danish firm.
Novo Nordisk currently hires approximately 1,200 staff across the county and, once expansions are complete the API plant, will employ 700 at that site alone.
“This global biopharma company has made our county a visible part of its production strategy, and I think that says all the right things about our business climate,” according to chairman of the Johnston County board, Ted Godwin.
Chad Henry, corporate VP and general manager of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes finished products manufacturing site, similarly highlighted the public-private partnership.
“Just as seriously as we take the vital role we play in producing innovative medicines for people with diabetes and obesity, we take great pride in creating jobs and supporting economic growth in Johnston and neighbouring counties in the ‘Biopharma Crescent’ region,” he said.
