Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk's building is in danger of collapsing after a 'massive fire' broke out
A Novo Nordisk A/S office building is in danger of collapsing after catching fire at the drugmaker’s headquarters complex in Denmark, less than a week after a fire incident involving one of its other Danish facilities.
The Wednesday fire is now under control, though the building is “not able to be saved,” a Novo spokesperson said by email. The location isn’t used for production, Novo said.
Weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic have transformed Novo into Europe’s most valuable company, and the drugmaker is investing heavily to expand in Denmark and abroad. This week’s fire follows a May 16 blaze on the roof of a building under construction at Novo’s manufacturing hub in Kalundborg, where the company is spending more than $8 billion to boost production.
The Wednesday fire broke out outside a building at the company’s site in Bagsvaerd in the morning hours, then spread to an adjacent office building. Extinguishing is still estimated to take another four-to-six hours, Martin Kjaersgaard, the local fire service chief of operations, said by phone around 2:40 p.m. local time. The structure is a “quite large multi-story building” and the risk of its collapse is slowing down extinguishing work. People in surrounding buildings have been evacuated, he said.
The company has several offices in Bagsvaerd, and the main headquarters building was not affected, Novo said. “All activity in the impacted area is expected to be back to normal tomorrow,” the company said.
Shares of Novo fell as much as 2.7% before paring back. The stock is up 32% year-to-date.
Some 100 firefighters were on site Wednesday to battle the “massive fire,” Kjaersgaard said. The smoke from the fire isn’t toxic, and there are no injuries, according to Novo’s spokeswoman.
Broadcaster TV2 showed photos and video clips of fire trucks arriving at the site in Bagsvaerd earlier on Wednesday, and fighters using drones to help them as they try to extinguish the fire. The images displayed intensifying clouds of smoke, though no flames were visible.
In a post on X, the local police force said the fire was affecting visibility on the Hillerod motorway.
