CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Novo Nordisk invests $2.3 bln in France to boost obesity drug production

(Corrects headline to say $2.3 bln, not $2.3 mln)

Nov 23 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk plans to invest more than 16 billion Danish crowns ($2.34 billion) to boost production of its weight-loss drugs at a site in Chartres, France, scrambling to keep up with soaring demand.

The Danish drugmaker's various construction projects west of Paris will be completed by the end of 2028 for a significant increase production of its current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases.

"With this, we will – over the coming years - increase our production capacity to be prepared for the increased demand for our medicines and future innovations from our pipeline," Novo Nordisk said on Thursday.

It added that the investment adds capacity for GLP-1 products, referring to the active ingredient in its pioneering weight-loss drug Wegovy and in the lower-dose version Ozempic, which has also been used for weight loss outside of its approved use against diabetes.

The French government has pitched the expansion plan as a sign of newly restored French industrial competitiveness.

The investment in Chartres, where Novo already employs nearly 2,000 people making pre-filled injector pens and insulin, will lead to the creation of 500 jobs, the company said.

Novo's investment mirrors a similar move by U.S. rival Eli Lilly, which last week laid out plans to build a $2.5 billion manufacturing site in Germany in response to soaring demand for its new diabetes and obesity therapies.

($1 = 6.8320 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom Writing by Ludwig Burger Editing by Terje Solsvik and David Goodman)