The expansion, Novo Nordisk said, will add 1.4 million square feet of production space for aseptic manufacturing and finished production processes, doubling the combined square footage of all three of the company’s existing facilities in North Carolina. Around 1,000 new jobs are to be created as part of the expansion.

“It took us a century to reach 40 million patients, but through this expansion and continued investment in our global production, we’re building Novo Nordisk’s ability to serve millions more people living with serious chronic diseases in the future,” said Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk. “This is yet another real signal of our efforts to scale up our production to meet the growing global need for our life-changing medicines and the patients of tomorrow.”

The company said that the facility will be efficient and environmentally sustainable by utilizing state-of-the-art technology, roof-top solar panels and innovative water strategies. Novo Nordisk is aiming for LEED Gold certification, recognized as a standard of excellence in constructing healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings.

“Clayton was the first manufacturing site for Novo Nordisk in the US, and this new, large-scale investment confirms the continued importance of our production facilities there as cornerstones of our company’s growth,” said Henrik Wulff, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president, Product Supply, Quality & IT.

According to Novo Nordisk, early clearing and foundational work are already underway to prepare the 56-acre facility footprint and construction is expected to be gradually finalized between 2027 and 2029.