Italy set to speed through $2.3 billion Novo Nordisk investment

ROME (Reuters) -Italian authorities on Monday appointed a special commissioner to help Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk speedily deliver its promised 2 billion-euro ($2.34 billion) investment in a factory south of Rome.

As part of Novo Holdings' takeover of pharmaceutical company Catalent last year, Novo Nordisk acquired a site in Italy along with two others, one in Belgium and one in the United States.

Francesco Rocca, president of the Lazio region that includes Rome and is where the Anagni factory is based, was made special commissioner for the site, a role that gives him powers to speed up projects related to the facility, including upgrades.

The factory will produce weight loss and diabetes drugs, the region said in a statement, adding that Rocca's appointment "aims to ensure administrative speed and institutional coordination, essential elements for a project of this magnitude".

Speaking at a news conference, Rocca said production is scheduled to start in late 2026 or early 2027 and the factory upgrade should be fully completed in 2029.

Novo Nordisk in an emailed statement declined to provide details on what would be manufactured at the site, but welcomed the Italian government's support.

Italy's government approved Novo's plans to upgrade capacity at the Anagni site in March, saying the company had pledged to invest more than 2 billion euros in 2025-2029 and hire around 800 people, boosting the total workforce to 1,500. 

The government declared the plans to be of "pre-eminent strategic interest", a status granted to large foreign investment projects that allows the fast-tracking of approval procedures.  

The Lazio region said on Monday it had approved upgrades for road links to the factory worth more than 2.9 million euros.

($1 = 0.8530 euros)

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, additional reporting by Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen; editing by Barbara Lewis)