Sanofi is investing €1.3 billion into a new insulin production facility in Germany to help with long-term supply and add power to its European supply chain.
The 36,000 square-meter facility will be based at Sanofi’s BioCampus in Frankfurt and use “digital and network solutions” to make insulin for diabetes patients around the world, according to a German company statement translated to English. It should be up and running by 2029 and will replace the French pharma’s existing production plants over time. Sanofi said it expects to create several hundred new jobs with the project.
The Frankfurt BioCampus already makes Sanofi’s insulin products as well as some biologics for immunology indications. For insulin, the site covers everything from API manufacturing to the assembling and filling of cartridges, pens and auto-injectors. It supplies insulin to patients in around 80 countries.
“The strong support of the German federal and state governments to this project, as part of a national pharmaceutical strategy, is an important signal for the biopharmaceutical industry,” chairman of Sanofi’s management board, Heidrun Irschik-Hadjieff, said in the statement.
The French pharma’s €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) investment still needs to be finalized pending public funding and approval from the European Commission. In May, Sanofi pledged more than €1 billion ($1.08 billion) to boost the production of biologics in its home base of France.