NOVO NORDISK GAINS CHINA LAND-USE RIGHTS

Danish drugs and bioindustrial group Novo Nordisk has obtained land-use rights for a 160,000-square meter industrial site outside the city of Tianjin in China. The site will be the home of a production facility for industrial enzymes initially and, later, a facility for the production of pharmaceuticals.

The company's total investment in China over the next 8-10 years could amount to $210 million and, when fully operational, the Tianjin plant will function as part of Novo Nordisk's international production network, making enzymes for the Chinese market as well as for exports.

Novo Nordisk' president and chief executive, Mads Ovlisen, noting that the new site is large enough to incorporate pharmaceutical manufacturing, said "plans for this phase of the project are still at a very early stage," and "the scope of the pharmaceutical plant and timing of its construction will depend on the developments of the pharmaceutical market in China over the coming years."