Novartis invests 63 million euros in its Barcelona factory and turns it into a European hub for antibiotics production

The Swiss group Novartis will invest 77.4 million euros this year in expanding its production capacity in Spain, of which 63 million will go to the Palafolls plant (Barcelona).

This factory will increase its production capacity by 150%, up to 500 tons annually, and will become one of the group's two antibiotic production hubs for the whole of Europe. This expansion also means 84 new jobs will be created.

The global president of Novartis’ Innovative Medicines division, Marie France Tschudin, and the president of the group in Spain, Jesús Ponce, outlined the company's projects to the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, and to Manuel de la Rocha, the Secretary General of Economic Affairs and G-20 of the Cabinet Office of the Presidency of the Government.

According to Novartis, an investment close to 100 million euros in R&D&I projects facilitated the fulfilment of 287 clinical essays in Spain, with the participation of 7,753 patients.

This Swiss group is one of global leaders in biomedical innovation in cardiology, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, ophthalmology and respiratory fields, and almost half of the trials it is performing in Spain are in the 1 and 2 development phases, those with the highest basic research intensity.

Source: Novartis