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Novo Nordisk invests $6 bn to boost anti-obesity drug output

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said Friday it would invest 42 billion kroner ($6 billion) to expand manufacturing facilities in efforts to meet massive demand for its anti-diabetes and anti-obesity treatments.

Novo Nordisk invests $6 bn to boost anti-obesity drug output
Novo Nordisk HQ in Bagsværd near Copenhagen. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Sales of the Ozempic and Wegovy treatments have made Novo Nordisk the most valuable company in Europe by market capitalisaiton.

But the drugmaker has struggled to keep up with demand for the drugs, which both rely on its GLP-1 analogues, a medicine which increases the amount of an intestinal hormone that secretes insulin.

The company said the investment would be used to “expand existing manufacturing facilities in Kalundborg, Denmark, for the current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases.”

“The investment will create additional capacity across the entire global value chain from manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to packaging, with the vast majority invested in API capacity,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement.

It added a new “multi-product facility” would be constructed, and the investment was expected to lead to the creation of 800 new jobs — 700 in the new API facility and 100 in a new packaging facility.

“The investment, which includes GLP-1 products, will increase Novo Nordisk’s ability to meet future market demands,” the company said.

Ozempic is an injectable anti-diabetic treatment which became wildly popular on social networks for its slimming properties, even though it is not approved for such use.

Wegovy, which has the same active ingredient as Ozempic in a different dose, was approved by US regulators to treat obesity.

In early November, Novo Nordisk reported a 56 percent increase in third quarter profits, reaching 22.5 billion kroner in the period from July to September.

Sales meanwhile rose 29 percent to 58.7 billion kroner.

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BUSINESS

Maersk profits plummet as Yemeni attacks close off Red Sea route

Danish shipping giant Maersk posted a huge drop in net profit for the first quarter on Thursday as Yemeni rebel attacks are forcing it to avoid the vital Red Sea route.

Maersk profits plummet as Yemeni attacks close off Red Sea route

Maersk reported a net profit of $177 million in the first three months of the year, a 13-fold drop from the same period last year. Turnover fell 13 percent to $12.4 billion, slightly lower than forecast by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.

The company, however, raised its outlook for the full year, citing higher demand and increased rates and costs due to the supply chain disruptions in the Red Sea.

It now expects an underlying core profit ranging between $4 billion and $6 billion, up from $1 billion-$6 billion previously.

“We had a positive start to the year with a first quarter developing precisely as we expected,” Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc said in a statement.

“Demand is trending towards the higher end of our market growth guidance and conditions in the Red Sea remain entrenched,” he said.

“This not only supported a recovery in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter, but also provide an improved outlook for the coming quarters, as we now expect these conditions to stay with us for most of the year.”

Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the country’s Red Sea coast, have launched dozens of attacks on ships since November, claiming solidarity with Palestinians caught up in the Israel-Hamas war.

The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from the attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade.

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