Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Japanese pharmaceutical group Takeda expands its production in Switzerland. With the investment of CHF 200 million and the creation of 40 new jobs, Takeda is strengthening the Neuchâtel production site and ensuring patients with rare diseases continue to receive life-changing treatments.
Increased capacity
The bulk of the investment involves the renewal of a production line that has reached the end of its life cycle, with the remainder being an expansion of the company’s production capacities in the field of active substances.
More precisely, there will be a new building with a filling line at the biotechnology production site in Pierre-à-Bot with a high degree of automation. Moreover, an existing facility is extended for new bioreactors to increase production capacity. Takeda celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony with representatives from politics, society, and the economy.
Three-year project
The construction of the new lines is scheduled for completion by 2025. The filling facilities will be commissioned at once, while the production of active substances will be carried out in two phases, as full capacity will not be required at first, reports Switzerland Global Enterprise, the official Swiss organization for export and investment promotion.
Takeda’s establishment in Neuchâtel dates back to 2019 when the Japanese market leader acquired the British pharmaceutical company Shire for 46 billion pounds (over CHF 57 billion at the time). With a surface area of 140,000 square feet, the production facility located in the heights of Neuchâtel, where some 700 employees of 22 different nationalities work, operates around the clock and supplies over 70 markets.
“Our Neuchâtel site is a key component of our global production network,” said Thomas Wozniewski, global head of production and supply at Takeda. “Our largest investment to date for this infrastructure is a testament to the importance of Switzerland as a long-term production site for the company.”
Globalized outlook
In Neuchâtel, Takeda manufactures therapies for the treatment of various forms of hemophilia. The focus is on three drugs against two types of blood clotting disorders or defects. These recombinant therapeutics are produced without substances of human or animal origin. They originate from biotechnological production and are grown in cell culture. As such, they offer a very high level of safety, purity, and efficacy.
“The expansion of Takeda adds to the strength of the biotech sector, a key pillar of the Swiss economy,” said Eric Jakob, State Secretary for Economy (SECO), Director of Economic Development, at the groundbreaking event. “This sector comprises many elements where Swiss companies are traditionally very strong: It is a combination of expertise, experience, highly skilled and dynamic interdisciplinary knowledge networks, or the need to compete on international markets, given the small size of our domestic market.”
Text: SCCIJ based on material of S-GE and Takeda (editing by SCCIJ)