Daiichi Sankyo is investing one billion euros to expand its Pfaffenhofen site into an international innovation center, creating 350 new jobs by 2030. The site will focus on developing cancer therapies, including for breast, lung, and stomach cancer. Federal Minister Karl Lauterbach praises the investment for Germany's pharmaceutical industry. The site's high-quality standards and global reach make it a key player in Daiichi Sankyo's global supply chain. The expansion includes state-of-the-art facilities for antibody drug conjugate technology. The company aims to become a leading oncology company and contribute to medical progress and patient care worldwide.
- The research-based pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo from Japan with its European headquarters in Munich is expanding.
- In future, the Pfaffenhofen site will develop and manufacture not only cardiovascular drugs but also therapies for the treatment of breast, lung and stomach cancer, among others.
- The expansion of the plant has already begun and should be completed by 2030 at the latest. At least 350 new jobs will be created during this time.
- Federal Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach visits the plant and underlines the importance of the investment for Germany as a business location and for patients worldwide.
Munich - Daiichi Sankyo is investing around one billion euros to expand its production and development site in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, north of Munich, into an international innovation center. This will create at least 350 new jobs by 2030, including numerous positions for top international researchers, process engineers and other specialists in sterile and biotechnology. In addition to additional production capacities in the field of cardiovascular diseases, new laboratories will be created, particularly for antibody drug conjugate (ADC) technology. This will be used to develop and produce novel cancer therapies in Pfaffenhofen for breast, lung and stomach cancer, among others.
"These investments are a clear commitment to our Group goal of helping to improve the quality of life around the world. We are on our way to becoming one of the world's leading oncology companies. We are building on the continued success of our cardiovascular medicines. By expanding our oncology activities, we want to make an even greater contribution to medical progress in the future. This will enable us to offer patients new treatment options. With its many years of expertise, our Pfaffenhofen site has all the prerequisites for this," explains Masahiro Kato, Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board of Daiichi Sankyo Europe.
On the occasion of his visit to the Pfaffenhofen site today, Federal Minister Prof. Karl Lauterbach commented: "Daiichi Sankyo's billion-euro investment is very good news for patients and for Germany as a pharmaceutical location. The pharmaceutical strategy and the digitalization of our healthcare system strengthen Germany as a location for research and production. The fact that novel therapeutic methods are being researched and developed here motivates us as the Federal Government to further accelerate the strategy of promoting pharmaceutical research and production. To this end, we are removing bureaucratic hurdles with the Medical Research Act and creating fast approval channels. We are also enabling the use of health data for research projects."
State-of-the-art cancer therapies "Made in Germany"
For more than 60 years, the Pfaffenhofen production site has stood for the highest quality standards. The medicines produced at the plant are shipped to more than 50 countries worldwide.Pharmaceutical development is also already taking place at the site:Colleagues are developing suitable dosage forms and the associated production processes based on the active ingredients provided by our researchers in Japan in order to be able to manufacture them on an industrial scale.Pfaffenhofen is also one of Daiichi Sankyo's largest sites worldwide for the manufacture of clinical products.The development of new analytical methods is also of particular importance for ensuring quality. These are developed in the analytical department and later used in quality control to test the finished medicinal products. For this purpose, the company moved into a new building at the end of 2023, which provides space for both departments.
Matthias Kühn, Site Manager at Daiichi Sankyo Europe in Pfaffenhofen, on the decision to expand the site into an international innovation center: "The fact that we will increasingly focus on oncological therapies in Pfaffenhofen in the future is positive in two respects, especially for patients: Firstly, we can contribute significantly to the increased global demand for ADC cancer therapies. Secondly, we are demonstrating our future viability and the top quality that we provide here."The expansion of the plant involves intensive collaboration with the existing and growing network of local, regional and national partner companies.
First league of antibody production
One of the elements of the investment is the new building for Daiichi Sankyo's ADC, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.Daiichi Sankyo is thus very likely to join the "premier league of biotech companies" in the DACH region.
In addition to production and research, the investments will also strengthen quality assurance and logistics. Renewable energies will play an increasingly important role: The plant already relies on wind, water, biomass and solar energy, which it generates itself either with its own systems or in cooperation with local partners.
Daiichi Sankyo is thus taking a major step towards its vision of contributing to the sustainable development of society.
About Daiichi SankyoDaiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company that contributes to the sustainable development of society.The company researches, develops and delivers new standards in healthcare to improve the quality of life of people worldwide. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo uses its world-class research and technology to develop new treatments and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases for which there are inadequate or no treatment options. For more information about the company, please visit www.daiichi-sankyo.eu.
About Daiichi Sankyo Europe, Pfaffenhofen site
Currently, more than 700 employees work at Daiichi Sankyo Europe's Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm site, about 60km north of Munich. The plant is Daiichi Sankyo's largest global production and development site outside Japan and plays an important role in Daiichi Sankyo's global supply chain. In addition to pharmaceutical development (which deals with the formulation and manufacturing methods of drugs and their analytical characterization), the focus is on pharmaceutical and biotechnological production.
Drugs are shipped from Pfaffenhofen to more than 50 countries. State-of-the-art facilities and automation at the cutting edge of technology ensure consistently high quality, which is regularly confirmed by various inspections by regional, national and international authorities. About Daiichi Sankyo's Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) technology
With Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC), Daiichi Sankyo has developed a new platform technology for various tumor types.ADCs combine the targeted therapy of an antibody with the potency of chemotherapy. ADCs are therapies that combine three elements: an antibody connected to the payload (the cytotoxic agent) via a linker.