Novo Nordisk's $1.09B Investment to Boost Drug Production in Brazil

(Refiles to fix typographical error in headline)

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Novo Nordisk, the producer of Ozempic, Wegovy and other medications, will invest 6.4 billion reais ($1.09 billion) in Brazil to boost production, it said on Monday. 

The investment aims to increase manufacturing capacity at Novo Nordisk's facility in Minas Gerais state for injectable drugs for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other serious chronic diseases, the company said in a statement.

"Brazil plays a strategic (role) in realizing our purpose," said Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, after announcing the investment at an event in the Minas Gerais city Montes Claros.

Brazil is among the five largest markets for Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker said. It also exports to more than 70 countries out of Brazil.

With the investment, the production capacity will have "a considerable and significant increase," said Reinaldo Costa, corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk's factory in Montes Claros, without detailing numbers. 

Construction work has already begun and operations in the new facility, to measure 74,000 square meters, are expected to start in 2028. 

The factory will cater to various product formats, including GLP-1 medicines such as semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy.

Novo Nordisk's investment comes as Brazilian pharmaceutical companies are preparing to make a push into the booming GLP-1 market.   

In March, Brazil's Hypera announced plans to launch a generic version of Ozempic as soon as the drug's patent expires in Brazil.

Costa said Novo Nordisk is not concerned about the patent expiration, as it is a normal process in the pharmaceutical industry.

The executive also minimized the potential effects of the global trade war triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Novo Nordisk is expanding its factory in the U.S., which is not one of the destinations for products manufactured in Brazil, he said.

($1 = 5.8721 reais)

(Reporting by Paula Arend Laier; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Anthony Esposito, Kylie Madry and Bill Berkrot)