Sanofi, Pfizer and AstraZeneca (AZ) have committed a total of €2.5bn to biomanufacturing projects in France ahead of the foreign direct investment summit, Choose France, in Versailles.
The manufacturing investments are part of a wider €15bn investment from various companies and industries, including GSK – which is set to unveil new investments in the country – Amazon and Microsoft.
First launched in 2018 and chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, the “pro-business” event aims to attract foreign investors by extolling France’s economic and tax virtues.
Sanofi has committed more than €1bn to create new bioproduction sites in France: Vitry-sur-Seine (€1bn), Le Trait (€100m) and Lyon Gerland (€10m), while Pfizer has pledged €500m to build up its research and development (R&D) in the country, along with AZ’s €360m investment for its Dunkirk site.
The majority of the investment will be used to build Sanofi’s Vitry-sur-Seine site to double the production capacity of monoclonal antibodies to produce several medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, multiple sclerosis and diabetes.
In addition, the new Le Trait facility will focus on biologics formulating, filling, device assembly and packaging, involving the French manufacturer’s anti-inflammatory antibody drug, Dupixent (dupilumab), while €10m will support the production of TZield as a biologic for type 1 diabetes to be located in Lyon Gerland.
Paul Hudson, chief executive officer, Sanofi, commented: “With these unprecedented industrial investments, we remain true to our history by… choosing France to produce… future medicines and make them available to patients around the world.”
Meanwhile, building on its existing five-year investment plan in France, which totals more than €1.5bn, Pfizer’s investment will be used to boost its R&D capabilities and clinical trial collaborations, specifically in sickle cell disease and multiple myeloma, while also advancing manufacturing in the country with further plans to increase its production capabilities for its commercial and clinical-stage assets.
AZ’s investment will go towards its Dunkirk manufacturing facility, which specialises in producing inhaled devices for respiratory diseases including asthma and COPD, to establish two new assembly and packing lines, along with new builds, and will support the development of a propellant gas designed to reduce global warming emissions.