Sanofi to Invest €300 Million to Expand Belgium Manufacturing Site
PARIS—French drug maker Sanofi SA said Tuesday it planned to invest €300 million ($339 million) to expand its manufacturing site for biological drugs in Belgium.
The Paris-based company said it will add more than 8,000 square meters of manufacturing floor space to increase its overall production capacity and diversify to other drugs and therapeutic areas. Updates to the existing facility will also include the development of new laboratories focused on quality control and manufacturing sciences, the company said.
The new investment highlights the group’s new strategy to refocus on markets where it has or can build a competitive position to revive growth amid increasing competition in some of its main businesses.
Sanofi has already invested €600 million in Geel, in North Belgium, which began industrial biotech activities in 2001. The site is responsible for the global production of a protein therapy for Pompe disease, a rare, genetic muscular disease that is often fatal. The protein therapy is produced using cell cultures in large bioreactors, followed by a purification process.
Source: http://www.wsj.com/
