Novo Nordisk announced a major investment in a new insulin production plant in Tianjin, China. The plant has been designated Novo Nordisk's primary production base in the Asia Pacific region and will supply both China and export markets.

The investment amounts to close to 400 million US dollars and will create close to 500 new jobs in Tianjin. It is one of the largest investments in Novo Nordisk's history, and the largest single investment outside Denmark.

"The new plant in Tianjin will become the world's most modern insulin formulation and filling plant and is yet another example of the increasingly important role China is playing in Novo Nordisk's global operations," says Lars Rebien Sørensen, president and chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk.

Lars Rebien Sørensen announced the investment at a ground-breaking ceremony in Tianjin with representatives from among others the Chinese Ministry of Health, the Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA), the Danish embassy and leading Chinese diabetologists.

"The new plant will help meet the increasing demand for Novo Nordisk's insulin products in Asia. With the new plant and our R&D centre in Beijing, we will have an even stronger platform for changing diabetes in China," says Ronald Frank Christie, president of Novo Nordisk China.

Diabetes is a growing problem in China, with nearly 40 million people in the country estimated to have diabetes, the second-highest number in any single country after India. An ageing population and the adoption of Western lifestyles with too little exercise and diets high in saturated fat mean that the problem will get worse. A clear sign is that 64 million Chinese have impaired glucose tolerance, or prediabetes.

Novo Nordisk's first plant in Tianjin was built in 1996 and expanded twice in 2002 and 2005; the new plant will be built on a new 88,000 sq metres site next to the existing plant. It is expected to be operational in 2012. Major Novo Nordisk insulin products such as NovoMix 30 and NovoRapid will be formulated and filled in the plant.

"We are also planning to formulate and fill Levemir, Novo Nordisk's long-acting modern insulin here in the new plant," says Lars Arnoldsen, Novo Nordisk's project vice president, who will manage the construction of the new plant.

Total utilised area of the new plant will be 50,850 sq metres (footprint 22,500 sq metres). The construction alone is expected to take close to two years. It will take six million man-hours to complete the plant. Around 35,000 cubic meters of concrete will be used for the construction. Cold storage capacity will be equivalent to 21,000 large household refrigerators

Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care. Novo Nordisk has had an affiliate in China since 1994.