Wegovy Maker Investing $6 Billion as Demand for Popular Weight-Loss Drug Surges

The maker of the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy announced Friday that it is investing $6 billion to expand its manufacturing facilities in Denmark, as the company is currently struggling to meet global demand.

Novo Nordisk is expanding its facilities in Kalundborg, Denmark, to boost its manufacturing capacity and meet "future market demands," the company said. The investment will help increase the company's production capacity for its GLP-1 products such as Wegovy and Ozempic.

The plans include a new 1.8 million-square-foot active pharmaceutical ingredients facility. The drugmaker said the construction projects will be completed gradually from the end of 2025 through 2029.

The news comes as the company struggles to meet soaring demand for Wegovy. Novo Nordisk has restricted the supply of low, starting doses of the weight-loss drug since the summer to secure continuity of care for its current users.

Earlier this month, the company announced that sales for Wegovy skyrocketed 481% in the first nine months of 2023 to $3.1 billion compared with $536 million in the same period last year.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Eil Lilly's competing drug Zepbound for the use of weight loss.