Other healthcare companies such as Daiichi Sankyo have also announced investments in Germany recently, in a positive sign for the ruling coalition government.
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi could potentially invest somewhere between €1.3 billion and €1.5 billion in its Frankfurt manufacturing site making the insulin brand, Lantus, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt and Reuters.
Sanofi had revealed that it was originally thinking about moving its Lantus manufacturing operations to France, but has opted to upgrade its German site instead.
Although Sanofi has not provided much information on this investment, it would be a boost for a Germany economy, which has been struggling for several months with high interest rates, a soaring cost of living and sticky inflation.
Daiichi Sankyo, another major healthcare and pharmaceutical company, has also recently announced a €1 billion investment in a cancer research institute near Munich, along with another one in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ken Takeshite, global head of research and development at Daiichi Sankyo said, in a press release, “The establishment of our research institutes in Cambridge and Munich marks an important step to solidify our presence in the global drug discovery ecosystem.
“By enhancing our presence in these regions and utilising our strengths in science and technology, Daiichi Sankyo will continuously generate innovation through further collaborations with business partners and academia, contributing to the enrichment of quality of life around the world.”
Back in late 2023, US drug company Eli Lily also announced that it would be investing in a $2.5 billion (€2.33 billion) site in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, which would mainly focusing on the company’s injectable drugs.
Dr. Robert Habeck, vice chancellor and federal minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action said in Eli Lily’s press release at the time, “The decision to locate here is good news for Germany as a business location. It creates new and future-oriented jobs, shows the confidence of companies in the attractiveness of Germany as a pharmaceutical and industrial location and helps to improve healthcare for our citizens.
“The new location will make an important contribution to industrial value creation in Germany with high-tech production facilities and research and development.”
Sanofi sees sales surge 6.7% in Q1 2024 driven by Dupixent
Sanofi reported robust Q1 2024 results recently, with sales increasing 6.7%, mainly boosted by Duxipent, a drug used in the treatment of asthma, atopic dermatitis and nasal polyps, amongst other things.
The company saw Duxipent sales surge 24.9% to €2,835 million, with Sanofi expecting total sales of the drug for the whole of 2024 to be somewhere around €13 billion. Similarly, vaccine sales also rose 5.6%, driven mainly by Beyfortus. Pharmaceutical launches jumped 90.5%, boosted by ALTUVIIIO and Nexviazyme, to €606 million.
Paul Hudson, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Sanofi said in a press release, “We are off to an excellent start in 2024, delivering on our strategic priorities and a transformation of our portfolio of medicines and vaccines to become a development-driven, tech-powered company committed to serving patients and accelerating growth.”
