(Bloomberg) — The Danish economy extended its gains in the third quarter as drugmakers continued to increase production while domestic demand also began to recover.

Gross domestic product increased by 1.2% compared to the previous three months, Statistics Denmark announced in a preliminary report on Wednesday. The pharmaceutical industry was “the main driver” of the expansion, although private consumption and investment also contributed, the agency said.

This is the second consecutive quarter of growth in Denmark, following a contraction earlier in the year.

Denmark’s thriving pharmaceutical industry, best known for Novo Nordisk A/S’s popular weight-loss drugs and Bavarian Nordic A/S’s mpox vaccine, is a major driver of production in the Nordic country. It was responsible for half of last year’s economic expansion, when Denmark was one of the fastest growing countries in Western Europe.

“The pharmaceutical sector is generating explosive growth in Denmark,” Mathias Dollerup Sproegel, chief economist at Sydbank, said in a note, while highlighting the contribution of consumers and investments. “It’s interesting because consumers have been careful with their money for a long time.”

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