Biogen looks to build $1.1bn manufacturing plant in Switzerland

02-Jul-2015 - Last updated on 03-Jul-2015 at 07:33 GMT

Biotech company Biogen plans to invest one billion Swiss francs ($1.1bn) in Solothurn, Switzerland to build a new production plant that will create about 400 new jobs beginning in 2019.

The announcement comes as Biogen believes rising demand for its current products, as well as potential demand from developing candidates, creates the need for additional manufacturing capacity.

“Right now we have signed an ‘intent’ to build this facility, but it has not yet been approved by the community in Solothurn,” Biogen spokeswoman Kate Niazi-Sai told us. “This announcement is part of our plan to bolster our current drug supply network to meet anticipated future demand for our products.”

The planned facility would support the company’s other manufacturing site in Denmark, as well as its presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Research Triangle Park, NC.

Niazi-Sai added that the company has yet to reveal what products will be manufactured at the site or the types of equipment that will be deployed. The company, which has had a presence in Switzerland for a decade, currently employs 300 there.

Biogen’s current products help to treat multiple sclerosis and hemophilia, while its pipeline includes treatments for Alzheimer's and spinal muscular atrophy.