Jacobs Engineering Group announced has been awarded a contract from Novo Nordisk for a research and development facility in Bagsværd, Denmark.

Officials did not disclose the contract value.

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is providing engineering, procurement and construction management services for a new purification pilot plant project, which initially involves one purification line.

The project is expected to expand Novo Nordisk’s capacity to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for a growing number of diabetes drugs in development. The pilot plant is expected to be fully operational by late 2016. The facility has the potential to be expanded twofold in the future to provide further production capacity.

In making the announcement, Jacobs Group Vice President Conor Doyle stated, “As the largest provider of professional technical services to the biopharmaceutical industry, we look forward to contributing our wide industry knowledge and global perspective on the design of Good Manufacturing Practices facilities to help Novo Nordisk meet their project goals.”

“We expect the new purification pilot plant to significantly increase our capacity for early-phase diabetes projects,” said Jesper Bᴓving, Senior Vice President, CMC Supply, part of Novo Nordisk R&D.

Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 90 years of innovation and leadership in areas such as diabetes care. Novo Nordisk employs approximately 40,000 employees in 75 countries and markets its products in more than 180 countries.

Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of technical professional and construction services.