The pharmaceutical company will extend its manufacturing facility in Athlone, Co Westmeath, chief executive Mike Doustdar has told Bloomberg.
Only last year, Novo Nordisk was reported to be about to cut jobs at its Irish operation as part of a global restructuring that would involve 9,000 positions being removed worldwide. The Danish drugmaker employs about 400 people in Athlone, where employees had been told that up to 75 jobs could go.
About two years ago, Novo Nordisk pulled out of plans to build a factory near Dublin.
The launch of the Wegovy pill in early January has been one of the most successful pharmaceutical debuts ever, with more than 240,000 Americans taking it, Mr Doustdar said. The drug is currently only available in Ireland as an injection.
Novo is hoping the pill will help it reclaim a weight-loss market it once dominated, and make up ground lost to rival Eli Lilly, which makes the drug Zepbound.
“If we were about to throw in the towel, we would not be investing in factories in Ireland,” Mr Doustdar said, although he declined to comment on the scale of the planned investment.
A spokeswoman for the company said later: “We look forward to updating on our plans for Ireland in due course.”
Wegovy is a sister drug of Ozempic, which has been licensed in Ireland for some time to treat type 2 diabetes.
It became available in injectable form in Ireland about a year ago. Unlike the injection, the pill does not require refrigeration.
Wegovy and Mounjaro, which is made by Eli Lilly, are currently undergoing formal pricing and reimbursement assessments by the HSE.
Ozempic is available for reimbursement for the treatment of diabetes only.
The lowest available dose of Wegovy (0.25g), which is injected weekly, costs about €200 for a month’s supply. The tablet form is expected to be cheaper.
Ireland is an international hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing, with Eli Lilly thought to be the biggest. The company produces active ingredients for its weight-loss and diabetes drugs here.
Ireland’s economy relies heavily on this US investment, which has helped push receipts of corporation tax to record levels. The likelihood of attracting further investment was cast into doubt last year, however, as US president Donald Trump threatened tariffs on American companies that did not re-shore manufacturing to America.
Last week, Novo disappointed investors by forecasting a bigger-than-expected drop in sales this year – evidence of an intensifying price war in obesity drugs.
Last October, the company appointed Dilek Dogan Gurluk as general manager of Novo Nordisk Ireland.
At the time, Ms Gurluk said Novo was evolving beyond its strong heritage in diabetes care to apply the same expertise to obesity.
“We know from our experience that tackling chronic diseases requires more than medicine alone,” she said. “We need a whole-of-society approach.
“Through Novo Nordisk’s ‘A Healthier Ireland Strategy’, we will work with our partners across healthcare, Government and the community to drive positive systemic change for patients by removing barriers that prevent better health outcomes.”
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