Sandoz opens new antibiotic and biosimilar facilities in Austria and Germany

Antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the top ten global public health threats

Sandoz has announced the opening of two new European facilities in Austria and Germany to strengthen the development and supply of critical medicines in the EU and beyond.

The two facilities include a new facility for the production of penicillin at Kundl, Austria, along with a new biosimilar development centre in Holzkirchen, Germany.

Both facilities align with Sandoz’s commitment to ensuring sustainable access to quality antibiotics as well as spearheading the development of biosimilars.

Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infections by killing or stopping them from spreading.

Antimicrobial resistance has been declared one of the top ten global public health threats facing humanity by the World Health Organization.

Currently, penicillin antibiotics are the leading category of antibiotics worldwide.

Sandoz’s new penicillin production process aims to improve its ecological footprint and will help secure a European-based supply of penicillin-based antibiotics.

The company has provided a €150m investment to the Austrian facility, which includes a €50m contribution from the Austrian federal government to upgrade the manufacturing of penicillin.

“Antibiotics are the backbone of modern medicine,” said Richard Saynor, chief executive officer at Sandoz.

In addition to boosting the supply of antibiotics in the EU, “these investments [will] strengthen [Sandoz’s] industrial presence in [the] EU” and will reinforce the company’s “commitment to environmental responsibility,” added Saynor.

Additionally, Sandoz has invested €25m into the facility in Germany to become a global hub for the development of biosimilars.

At the beginning of 2023, the European Commission proposed revisions to the EU pharmaceutical laws amid a growing number of drug shortages across Europe.

The shortages occurred after a sudden increase in demand for antibiotics due to increased cases of respiratory infections as well as insufficient production capacity.

In October, the European Medicines Agency published a solidarity mechanism and toolkit to address critical medicine shortages and supply challenges, to make EU medicine supply chains more resilient.