The move, announced last week, follows on from a similar level of investment at the beginning of 2019.
This year’s investment will see DKK 800m ($116m) be used to upgrade and expand facilities at the Kalundborg, Denmark site. The work is expected to be completed in 2022.
The 1,200,000-square-meter site currently employs more than 3,000 people and is the world’s largest insulin manufacturing facility, producing more than 50% of all global insulin.
Investing in the site each year is part of the company’s overall strategy to invest DKK 1bn each year for the next 10 years.
Michael Hallgren, SVP for Novo Nordisk production in Kalundborg, outlined that the company has invested more than DKK 16bn since 2000.
During an investor call regarding fourth quarter results, Karsten Munk Knudsen, CFO for the company, stated that the full year could be understood as “pure and simple [as] an investment year,” with the company launching two diabetes treatment, Ozempic (semagultide injection) and Rybelsus (semaglutide).
Overall, the company struggled in the insulin market, with sales declining globally by 3% due to a significant drop of 17% in the US.