Sanofi has announced plans to invest approximately €1bn to build a new insulin production base in China.
The site, located in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, will be aimed at enhancing end-to-end insulin production and manufacturing capabilities, and will focus on serving the insulin medication needs of local diabetic patients.
The commitment marks Sanofi’s largest single investment in China and its fourth production and supply base in the country.
More than 140 million adults in China were living with diabetes by the end of 2021, and the incidence of the condition in the country is continuing to rise.
Localised insulin product manufacturing is crucial to meeting the growing demand for daily medication for chronic diseases, according to Sanofi, which has been operating in China for more than four decades.
Sanofi’s chief executive officer, Paul Hudson, said: “Our increasingly strong manufacturing capabilities, collaborative research and development capabilities, speed of introducing innovative drugs, and iterative capabilities of patient solutions in China continue to provide high-quality services for the health needs of Chinese patients and the general public.
“… We will also continue to deepen the layout of the industrial chain in China and upgrade innovative medical solutions to continuously improve the depth and breadth of medical services.”
The new base will adopt automated production, digital integrated management, as well as sustainable environmental protection standards, Hudson added.
Frédéric Oudéa, chairman of the board of directors at Sanofi, said: “We hope that Sanofi’s expanding production and supply layout will enhance our cooperation with upstream and downstream of China’s local industrial chain, and bring long-term support to the high-level development of China’s pharmaceutical and health industry.”
The announcement comes just days after Sanofi said it had opened a new €558m-backed manufacturing facility in Singapore, which the company said leverages an “industry first” modular concept.
Located in Tuas Biomedical Park, Modulas offers flexible manufacturing capabilities to produce next generation vaccines and biological medicines. It is hoped that the approach will allow for a fast and targeted response to future health needs, including potential pandemics, and provide patients with faster access to treatments.