Denmark-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk plans to invest in an expansion of its production facility in Athlone, Ireland, to manufacture its oral obesity treatment Wegovy for international markets, according to a Fierce Pharma report citing Bloomberg News.

Chief executive Mike Doustdar confirmed the expansion to Bloomberg News, linking the move to Novo Nordisk's broader strategy to reclaim obesity market share lost to US rival Eli Lilly. Doustdar provided no details on the scope or value of the planned investment, and a Novo Nordisk spokesperson declined to offer further comment.

"If we were about to throw in the towel we would not be investing in factories in Ireland," Doustdar told Bloomberg.

Novo Nordisk acquired the Athlone facility from Alkermes in late 2023 for approximately $91 million (€86.2 million), adding development and manufacturing capacity for oral products alongside roughly 400 employees at the site. The plant was identified at acquisition as a platform for current and future oral product manufacturing.

The Wegovy pill received FDA approval in December 2025 and launched commercially in the United States on 5 January 2026. More than 240,000 prescriptions have been recorded since launch, Doustdar told Bloomberg, following an earlier figure of 170,000 reported during Novo Nordisk's fourth-quarter earnings call. Novo Nordisk has submitted regulatory filings for the oral drug to the European Medicines Agency and is anticipating EU approval in the near term.

The Athlone expansion would position Ireland as Novo Nordisk's manufacturing base for supplying Wegovy to markets beyond the United States, diversifying production beyond the company's existing global network. The company competes directly with Eli Lilly's tirzepatide-based obesity treatments in a global GLP-1 therapeutics market experiencing sustained commercial growth.

Discover what Novo Nordisk's Athlone expansion means for global Wegovy supply in the complete report.