Kalundborg: Billions Invested by Wegovy Maker, But Town’s Growth Elusive

Kalundborg, a Danish coastal town with a population of 16,000, situated approximately an hour’s drive from Copenhagen, bears resemblance to a contemporary gold rush settlement. It serves as the primary manufacturing hub for the weight loss medication Wegovy. The active ingredient, Semaglutide, found in both Wegovy and the diabetes drug Ozempic, is produced at a local facility. Its parent company, Novo Nordisk, has injected over $8.5 billion (£6.5bn) into the town, an amount almost equivalent to Monaco’s total GDP. However, attracting residents to settle in the town presents a challenge. The factory experiences a daily surge of workers and construction personnel in the mornings, followed by a significant departure in the afternoons. Local residents refer to this phenomenon as the “Novo Queue” and advise against using the town’s roads during these peak times. Few of these workers reside in Kalundborg itself, opting instead to commute from outside areas. With an investment of £400,000 per resident, one might question the town’s appeal. Yet, beneath the impressive financial statistics, Kalundborg contends with numerous difficulties, including dilapidated schools, low household incomes, and a high prevalence of overweight children. Public school performance in Danish language and mathematics falls below the national average. Certain areas on the town’s outskirts offer limited amenities, both indoors and outdoors, with some playgrounds featuring only outdated swings. Regional councillor Helle Laursen Petersen stated, “If you saw that, you will take one of the big cities around here and say, ‘Well, we will live there and then I can drive to Kalundborg to work.'” She noted that these educational institutions find it difficult to recruit seasoned educators, which contributes to diminished aspirations among many parents. Petersen added that parents often believe their children are guaranteed employment at the Novo Nordisk factory, thus questioning the necessity of pursuing higher education. Students Ali, Anna K, Anna, and Marie, attending Gymnasium, the region’s most academically focused secondary school, expressed their desire to depart for further studies. Anna K commented, “It might become interesting later, but as of now, I think it’s a bit too boring to settle down here – I think I’d like a larger city.” Conversely, Ali and Marie expressed greater enthusiasm about returning post-education, anticipating increased employment prospects in the town that would allow them to better appreciate its natural environment. Brian Sonder Anderson, proprietor of the Blue Angel cinema and leader of the local trader’s association, observed that local supermarkets and bakeries are experiencing a surge in business due to factory employees frequenting them during lunch breaks. However, other retail establishments, including those selling footwear and apparel, frequently open and subsequently close, attributed to the majority of workers residing outside the town. A significant number of low-income families reside in Kalundborg, having been priced out of Copenhagen, the capital, where rental and property costs have escalated dramatically. This situation leaves some families dependent on welfare benefits and others reliant on employment at the factory. Furthermore, Kalundborg faces a public health concern, ranking among the top 5% of Danish towns for childhood overweight rates. Concurrently, Novo Nordisk has emerged as Europe’s most valuable company, reporting revenues exceeding $33bn last year and achieving a market valuation surpassing $500bn. The company’s investment in Kalundborg is intended to create an additional 1,250 jobs, supplementing the current 4,500 employees at the Kalundborg facility, and to accelerate the manufacturing of its top-selling pharmaceuticals. Although the company employs approximately 1% of the Danish workforce, it contributes a considerably larger share to the nation’s economic growth. Denmark’s economy expanded by 1.1% during the initial nine months of 2023. However, excluding the pharmaceutical sector, which is largely controlled by Novo, the economy experienced a contraction of 0.8%. Certain analysts have cautioned that segments of the national economy risk over-reliance on the pharmaceutical industry. Martin Damm, the town’s mayor, maintains an optimistic outlook, asserting that over 1,000 new employment opportunities are generated annually and that some young individuals are content to reside there. He stated, “In Europe people are moving from the rural area into the big cities and this is going the opposite way.” Damm added, “This is the little city [that] attracts big investment.” He further emphasized that schools are either undergoing renovation or already possess adequate amenities, and that increasing affluence will eventually foster healthier living habits. Miguel, an 18-year-old biotechnology student from Madrid enrolled in one of the town’s new university programs, recently joined a local football team comprising players from Brazil, Mexico, Poland, and Ukraine. He remarked, “There’s so many international people in this town and almost everyone that I’ve talked to in English has responded in English.” Amanda, a Brazilian resident, affirmed the presence of opportunities, having secured employment, enrolled her two young children in a local school, and expressed her desire for them to pursue university education in Kalundborg. Additionally, a new highway is under construction to alleviate the town’s persistent traffic congestion; however, attracting residents to live locally is identified as the fundamental solution. Students at the Gymnasium perceive the town as being at a pivotal juncture. Anna K stated, “In five years, I think the town [will have] grown quite a lot – I hope for a multi multicultural town.” She concluded, “If that is so, then I might consider moving back.”