Novo Nordisk buys Purdue Pharma plant

Aug. 6, 2019

In an attempt to streamline its supply chain of diabetes drugs in the U.S., Novo Nordisk has scooped up a plant from Purdue Pharma. 

The facility, located in Durham, N.C., will crank out Novo Nordisk’s once-daily pill for type 2 diabetes drugs. The company is banking on the drug being a major driver of growth because it is easier to take than traditional treatments taken via injection. The company’s oral diabetes drug, semaglutide, has already been approved in the EU and has been submitted to the FDA for approval in the U.S. 

Novo Nordisk said that it will also use the plant for “future oral drugs.”

So far, there’s no word on how the transaction will impact the roughly 80 employees who work at the plant for Purdue. In a letter to employees, Purdue’s CEO said that “given the market dynamics and expected demand for our current portfolio and marketed products, the continued operation [of the plant] can no longer be justified.” 

Read the Reuters report.