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As the largest private contributor to the security and independence of France's health ecosystem, Sanofi announces an investment of more than €1 billion to create new bioproduction capacity at its sites in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val de Marne), Le Trait (Seine-Maritime) and Lyon Gerland (Rhône).
This new investment will create more than 500 jobs and significantly strengthen France's ability to control the production of essential medicines from start to finish, for the present day and into the future. This plan brings to more than €3.5 billion the amount committed by Sanofi since the Covid-19 pandemic in major projects to keep production of medicines and vaccines in France for patients around the world.
In Vitry-sur-Seine, Sanofi will invest €1 billion to build a new facility that will double the site's monoclonal antibody production capacity. Several biologics in development amongst Sanofi’s 12 potential blockbusters, in chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), asthma, multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes, could be produced in Vitry to meet the needs of millions of patients in France and around the world. Sanofi anticipates the creation of 350 jobs as a result of this investment.
At the Le Trait site in Normandy, Sanofi will invest €100 million to develop new capacity for biologics formulation, filling, device assembly and packaging. It will support the launch of future biologics and vaccines, as well as the continued growth of Dupixent, which already is indicated in several inflammatory diseases and could soon become the first biologic indicated in COPD. This investment will support 150 jobs.
In Lyon Gerland, Sanofi is investing €10 million to locate the production of TZield in France. Tzield is a biologic for type 1 diabetes that Sanofi acquired in April 2023 and which has been manufactured outside Europe.
Paul Hudson, chief executive officer, Sanofi, said: "Thanks to the transformation undertaken since 2020, Sanofi has a record number of medicines and vaccines in development that could become best-in-class and help meet major public health challenges. With these unprecedented industrial investments, we remain true to our history by once again choosing France to produce these future medicines and make them available to patients around the world. France is, and always will be, at the heart of Sanofi's strategy."
Sanofi carries out more than 60% of its global production in the European Union and sources only 5% of its active ingredients in Asia, compared to an average of 80% in the pharmaceutical industry. Thanks to this industrial footprint, Sanofi's contribution to France's trade balance amounted to more than €13 billion in 2023.
These investments at Vitry, Le Trait and Lyon Gerland add up to major projects launched since the Covid-19 pandemic to build in France new drugs and vaccines production capacity in-line with Sanofi's world class pipeline of best and first-in-class assets and meet public health needs. These projects includes:
• In Neuville-sur-Saône, nearly €500 million to build the world's first evolutive facility for biological drugs and vaccines, including mRNA. It will be low-carbon and meet LEED certification standards when it launches in 2025.
• In Val de Reuil, €250 million to build Europe's largest flu vaccine production unit and locate several production stages of Fluzone High Dose/Efluelda, its high-dose flu vaccine, in France.
• In Sisteron, €60 million to build a small-volume launch unit for the production of active ingredients.
• In Lisieux, €20 million to increase Doliprane's production capacity by 140 million boxes per year.
In Tours, €15 million to locate the production of a drug to fight high cholesterol in France. This investment will allow the construction of a new high-volume granulation unit and a tablet-coating line in a new building. The capacity of this new unit will be around 700 million boxes per year for some 20 countries, particularly in Europe and Asia.
Audrey Derveloy, president of Sanofi France, said: "Throughout its history, Sanofi has always sought to equip France with the strategic platforms needed to produce the essential medicines and vaccines of today and tomorrow. This is why we chose our Vitry site to double its monoclonal antibody production capacity, after having already invested heavily in Neuville-sur-Saône to produce our future vaccines, including with mRNA technology. We have also strengthened our API production sites in the south of France. Our contribution to health sovereignty in Europe, and France in particular, has always been and remains unique."
These efforts are part of the new chapter of Sanofi's Play to Win strategy presented at the end of 2023, which focuses on cutting-edge science and its ambition to become the world leader in immunology, targeting diseases such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and COPD. To support this ambition, Sanofi will invest an additional €700 million per year in R&D over the next two years. In 2023, Sanofi invested €6.7 billion in R&D.
Sanofi is an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives.
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