BeiGene opens regional office in Basel to strengthen European presence
The biotech – which has offices around the world and with key operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Beijing, China – has built up a European organization including commercial and clinical teams.
“The opening in Basel builds upon the tremendous growth of our organization in Europe and will provide a new center for our operations in the region,” said John V. Oyler, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO at BeiGene. “We have built a terrific team and the skilled talent network in Basel will support our future growth. This is just the beginning – we are on a path to advance our mission to reach more patients with innovative medicines across Europe and globally.”
Founded in 2010, BeiGene now has a global team of over 8,000 colleagues across five continents. The European organization has more than 270 colleagues, and the Basel office is expected to initially include 150 colleagues.
The company conducts clinical trials globally and to date has enrolled patients from more than 45 countries, including 25 countries in Europe. BeiGene’s BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib was approved by the European Medicines Agency in November 2021 for treatment of adults with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia and has subsequently received approvals in Great Britain and Switzerland.
Hematology-oncology and solid tumor targeted therapies and immuno-oncology are key focus areas for the company, with both mono- and combination therapies prioritized in its research and development.
Basel continues to build life science focus
Pharmaceutical giants already with a presence in Basel include Novartis, Roche, J&J, Moderna, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hengrui Medicine, Lonza and Dr. Reddy’s.
Its location in the middle of Europe with excellent road, rail and air links is a selling point for the Swiss city, notes Basel Area Business & Innovation, as well as boasting Europe’s largest talent pool with access to 31,600 highly-qualified, multilingual international professionals.
“BeiGene's presence represents a great opportunity for the Swiss and particularly the Basel economy to grow and collaborate,” commented Deborah Strub, Member of the Executive Board and Head of the Cluster & Initiatives Department at the Basel Chamber of Commerce. “The life sciences sector is the economic engine of the region. With BeiGene we see opportunities for interesting synergies and exchanges.”
Switzerland, meanwhile, is building up its reputation as a biotech hub with a particular focus on personalized medicine, mRNA, CGT and beyond.
