Sandoz has opened a new biosimilar development center in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as part of a broader push to expand its in-house capabilities ahead of what it describes as a “golden decade” of biologic patent expiries totaling about $320B. The fully digitally integrated facility represents an investment of $99M, spans roughly 10,000 m² and employs more than 200 scientists. It is designed to support end-to-end biosimilar drug substance and drug product development, underpinned by advanced analytics and data science, and is integrated with existing bioanalytical and bioassay laboratories in Holzkirchen, Germany, and device development operations in Cambridge, UK.
The Ljubljana site becomes the company’s largest biosimilar development hub, intended to strengthen internal capabilities for developing complex biologic follow-ons. Sandoz positions the center as a central component of its wider biosimilar development and manufacturing network, with the goal of moving candidates more efficiently from development into production as large numbers of originator biologics lose exclusivity over the next decade.
The new facility is the first of three major investment projects within a planned total spend of more than $1.1B in Slovenia to build an end-to-end European biosimilar hub. It complements new drug substance production facilities in Lendava and sterile production and packaging operations in Brnik. Sandoz has also recently added a biosimilar site in Toulouse, France, as part of this network-focused build-out.
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