Other healthcare companies such as Daiichi Sankyo have also recently announced investments in Germany, a positive sign for the ruling coalition government.
advertisementFrench pharmaceutical giant Sanofi could invest 1.3 billion to 1.5 billion euros in its Frankfurt manufacturing site, which makes its insulin brand Lantus, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt and Reuters.
Sanofi said it had initially considered moving Lantus manufacturing to France but opted instead to upgrade its German site.
Sanofi has not provided much information about the investment, but it will be a boost for Germany’s economy, which has been struggling for months with high interest rates, rising living costs and stubborn inflation.
Daiichi Sankyo, another major medical and pharmaceutical company, recently announced it would invest 1 billion euros in its cancer research institute near Munich and in its research facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“The establishment of our laboratories in Cambridge and Munich marks an important step in solidifying our presence in the global drug discovery ecosystem,” Takeshita Ken, Daiichi Sankyo’s head of global research and development, said in a press release.
“Daiichi Sankyo will increase its presence in these regions, leverage its strengths in science and technology, and further collaborate with business partners and the academic community to continuously generate innovation and contribute to improving the quality of life around the world.”
Later in 2023, US drugmaker Eli Lilly also announced it would invest in a $2.5 billion (€2.33 billion) facility in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to focus primarily on its injectable drugs.
In an Eli Lilly press release at the time, Dr. Robert Harbeck, Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, said, “The decision to locate here is good news for Germany as a business location. It will create new future-oriented jobs, demonstrate the companies’ confidence in Germany’s attractiveness as a pharmaceutical and industrial location, and help improve healthcare for our citizens.”
“With its high-tech production facilities and research and development, the new location will make an important contribution to industrial value creation in Germany.”
Sanofi sees 6.7% sales growth in first quarter 2024 on strong Dupixent sales
Sanofi recently reported strong results for the first quarter of 2024. Revenues increased 6.7%, mainly due to Duxipent, a treatment for asthma, atopic dermatitis, and nasal polyps.
The company’s Duxipent sales increased 24.9% to €2.835 billion, and Sanofi expects total sales for the drug to be around €13 billion for full-year 2024. Similarly, vaccines sales increased 5.6%, led by Bayfortas. Drug launches increased 90.5% to €606 million, driven by Artsubio and Nexviazyme.
“We are off to a great start in 2024 as we execute on our strategic priorities and transform our medicines and vaccines portfolio to become a discovery-led, technology-enabled company that serves patients and accelerates growth,” Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said in a press release.
