Lula speaks at event on expansion of drug giant in Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday (Apr. 7) said that Brazil has all the necessary conditions to attract companies looking to set up or invest in the country, as it offers political, legal, and economic stability. “The government only creates opportunities,” he said during an event announcing the expansion of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais state.
He also mentioned social market stability and predictability and pointed out that Brazil’s public health care network—the SUS—is a major client of the pharmaceutical sector.
“This gentleman [Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk], who came to invest BRL 6.4 billion, believes this country has all the conditions [favorable for him] to do so. What’s more, this country is the only one with more than 100 million people that has something called SUS, which is the most important health program a country has in the world. And it’s the biggest buyer of medicines. So that’s why they’re here,” he stated.
The expansion of the industrial plant of Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, aims to increase the production capacity of injectable treatments for people with obesity, diabetes, and other serious chronic diseases. The investments amount to BRL 6.4 billion.
“This is the largest single investment by a private pharmaceutical company in the history of Brazil,” the president said.
The president also mentioned other company initiatives, such as the diversity policies that guarantee jobs for women, black people, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people.
The project is meant to boost the Montes Claros plant’s capacity with the introduction of new aseptic production processes, a warehouse, and a new quality-control laboratory. Construction work has begun and should be completed by 2028.
The company is a major supplier of insulin and medicines for the treatment of hemophilia to SUS and currently generates 2,65 thousand direct and indirect jobs in the city. A further 600 new direct jobs are expected to be created as a result of the expansion.
Novo Nordisk has manufacturing facilities in countries such as Denmark, the US, France, China, and Belgium. Medicines are produced there and distributed to patients around the world, serving over 70 nations. This includes the production of nearly half of the world’s insulin. In Brazil, the corporation has had its administrative office in São Paulo and its production plant in Montes Claros since 1990.
