Montes Claros, Brazil, 7 April 2025 - Novo Nordisk today announced an investment of 8 billion Danish kroner (6.4 billion reais) to expand its production site in Montes Claros to grow the ability to produce injectable treatments for people living with obesity and other serious chronic diseases.
Marking one of the largest pharmaceutical investments in Brazil’s history, the expansion will significantly increase capacity at the site with additional aseptic production processes, a warehouse and a new quality control laboratory. The facility will cater to multiple product formats, including GLP-1 products, and feature advanced, future-proof technology.
“With this expansion of the Montes Claros site we further strengthen our global production capacity, supporting our ability to meet current and future demand for innovative medicines around the world,” says Henrik Wulf, executive vice president, CMC & Product Supply, Novo Nordisk.
Construction work has begun and is expected to be completed in 2028. The investment is expected to create 600 permanent jobs upon completion of the facilities. During the construction phase, up to 2,000 external employees will be working on site.
"This announcement represents a historic milestone for Novo Nordisk in Brazil and reinforces our commitment to innovation and excellence in the country as we continue to invest in this strategic production site,” says Reinaldo Costa, corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk Production Montes Claros.
The facility will be designed with a focus on sustainability and is targeting a LEED certification. Low-carbon construction materials will be used where possible and 100% of the facility’s power supply will come from solar photovoltaics (PVs). In addition, the facility will use innovative water strategies, including rainwater harvesting and reuse for production.
In Brazil since 1990, the company currently has more than 2,000 employees. It is present in two states, with an administrative office in São Paulo (SP) and a production site in Montes Claros (MG).
Novo Nordisk has a global manufacturing setup with strategic production sites located in Denmark, US, France, Brazil, China and Belgium. Novo Nordisk’s medicines are manufactured at these sites and subsequently distributed to patients around the globe. This includes producing almost half of the world’s insulin, GLP-1 medicines for the treatment of diabetes and obesity and medicines to treat rare diseases such as haemophilia and growth disorders. Novo Nordisk’s manufacturing unit has more than 25,000 employees who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality to patients globally in an efficient and environmentally sustainable way.
Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs more than 77,000 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit Facebook, Instagram , X , LinkedIn and YouTube .
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