Novo Nordisk has engaged Thermo Fisher as a contract manufacturer to produce the weight-loss drug, Wegovy (semaglutide), Reuters reported, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.

ThermoFisher is carrying out the filling of the Wegovy injection pens at its plant in Greenville, North Carolina, the source added.

The publication quoted Novo Nordisk chief financial officer Karsten Munk Knudsen as saying in May 2023 that the company had hired a second contract manufacturer in the US, without revealing its identity.

A spokesperson from Novo Nordisk declined to comment on the latest development.

The company is currently working on increasing the drug output to meet the rising demand in the US, and due to manufacturing issues at a Catalent-operated plant in Brussels, Belgium.

Catalent was engaged by Novo Nordisk as the first contract manufacturer for Wegovy production.

In July 2023, the Brussels factory filling self-injection pens for Wegovy violated US sterile-safety rules repeatedly and its workers did not carry out the necessary quality assessments.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for the new drug application for the Wegovy injection of 2.4mg in June 2021.

It is the first prescription weight-loss drug intended for once-a-week dosing. 

In the STEP 1 clinical trial, Wegovy was demonstrated to offer an average weight loss of nearly 14.9% of body weight at 68 weeks, in addition to diet and exercise.