As Novo Nordisk continues to lose ground in the obesity market to rival Eli Lilly, the Danish company has started construction projects to establish the ex-Alkermes plant as a hub for supplying oral GLP-1 products to global markets.
Novo Nordisk has committed €432 million ($506 million) to upgrade and retrofit a facility in Ireland to make oral GLP-1 drugs.
The successful launch of the Wegovy pill, Novo’s oral GLP-1 drug, has been a rare positive for the company in recent months. Novo is losing market share to Eli Lilly in the injectable GLP-1 market, and the company’s next-generation candidate failed to match its rival’s product in a recent study. Yet Novo’s first-mover advantage in the oral GLP-1 obesity market is fueling growth.
With Novo expecting the European Medicines Agency to approve the Wegovy pill in the second half of 2026, the company Monday unveiled investment to support commercialization of the oral drug outside the U.S. The company has committed the money to its tableting facility in Athlone, Ireland.
Novo said it will use the funds to enhance the existing facility’s capacity to manufacture oral GLP-1 drugs. The company envisions Ireland serving as a vital center for supplying oral GLP-1 products to global markets, making the country central to its plans for meeting current and future demand for its medicines outside the U.S.
Alkermes sold the facility to Novo for $97.9 million in May 2024. Novo bought more land in Athlone months after closing the plant purchase. The company entered into subcontracting deals with Alkermes to perform development and manufacturing activities. Those deals finished at the end of last year.
Novo has started construction projects at the site and aims to gradually finalize the work from the end of 2027 through 2028. The company said the plant’s existing 260 employees “will focus on delivering the highest-quality oral treatments to patients in an efficient and environmentally sustainable way.”
The facility employed 400 people when Novo agreed to buy it from Alkermes. Last year, Novo eliminated 115 positions at the plant. The company made 75 people redundant and accepted 40 voluntary decisions to leave. The reduction in headcount in Athlone came as Novo was eliminating 9,000 jobs globally as part of a restructuring initiated after a change in leadership.
The restructuring reflected challenges faced by Novo’s injectable GLP-1 business. While the oral business is currently growing, the company could soon face competition from Lilly’s rival oral candidate orforglipron, which is currently awaiting an FDA decision under the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program.
