Novo Picks Ireland for Wegovy Weight Loss Tablet Manufacturing

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

Summary

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has confirmed a 430 million-euro (US$493 million) project to expand its key Irish manufacturing site to produce the tablet form of its weight loss drug Wegovy.

Novo Nordisk is backing the rollout of the tablet version of its popular weight loss drug Wegovy by expanding its main Irish manufacturing site in Monksland, Athlone. 

The company has confirmed that it will invest 430 million euro (US$493 million) to greatly expand its key Irish manufacturing site. It calls for an upgrade and retrofit of the existing facility, to support its capacity to manufacture oral GLP-1s--medicines used to treat diabetes and to aid weight loss. The tablet version of its injection-based Wegovy drug was launched in the U.S. first at the start of the year, where more than 240,000 Americans are currently taking it. It is still awaiting the green light in Europe. The company also makes the anti-diabetes drug Ozempic, which many people also use for weight loss.

Major Investment

Novo said the plant overhaul will allow Ireland to serve as a "critical hub for servicing markets outside the U.S." Kasper Bodker Mejlvang, executive vice president for Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls and Product Supply at Novo Nordisk, said: "With the investment in the Athlone facility, Novo Nordisk is expanding its production capacities for oral products, which will enable us to meet both current and future global demand outside the U.S. This investment...is a historic milestone for Novo Nordisk in Ireland." The existing plant, which employs 260 people, sits on a site covering 45 acres (18 hectares), and will create up to 600 construction jobs overall. Work is already underway and will be commissioned in stages from the end of 2027 through 2028. Industrial Info is tracking five associated projects at Monksland. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports. 

Broad Welcome

Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke said: "Today's investment announcement is a vote of confidence in Athlone, the Midlands and the skilled workforce we have worked hard to develop. It will help drive innovation, create highly skilled jobs and further strengthen Ireland's pharmaceutical ecosystem. Ireland hosts 9 of the top 10 global pharma companies, producing a significant portion of the world's most innovative drugs, solidifying our country's role as a central hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing."

Tough Times for Novo

Novo Nordisk is facing increased competition in the so-called 'skinny jab' market and has announced thousands of planned job cuts in recent months. In February, shares in the company plunged by almost a fifth on news that profits and sales would be down 13%. It cited a deal made by key rival Eli Lilly with U.S. President Donald Trump to lower the cost of weight-loss drugs for Americans. It also told the BBC that the Indian and Chinese patents on semaglutide--the main component in its Type 2 diabetes and obesity drugs--is due to expire in the coming months, which will see the arrival of new, cheaper generics on the marketplace. 

Ireland is also host to Novo's main rival, Eli Lilly, which manufactures the active pharmaceutical ingredients for its Zepbound and Mounjaro drugs at a plant in Kinsale, County Cork. The ingredients are sent to the U.S. and in recent years, the company and others have become some of Ireland's biggest exporters. A recent Goodbody report showed that Irish exports of key ingredients for weight-loss drug manufacturing in the U.S. were worth 51 billion euro (US$58.5 billion) in 2025--20% of total Irish exports--up from 14 billion euro (US$16 billion) in 2024. 

Key Takeaways

• Novo Nordisk is spending 430 million euro (US$493 million) to expand its key Irish manufacturing site for the tablet form of its weight loss drug Wegovy.
• Final European approval for the tablet form of Wegovy is due this year.
• Novo Nordisk has warned of forthcoming financial losses as it faces increased competition from main rival Eli Lilly and others.

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