Generic and biosimilar company Sandoz, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, has begun construction on a $440 million biosimilars manufacturing facility in Brnik, Slovenia.
The new plant will specialize in sterile injectable production and is part of a $1.1 billion investment strategy to expand the company’s biosimilar operations in Slovenia through 2029, according to the company.
The Brnik facility will support preparation, filling, assembly, and packaging of sterile injectable products and include quality control laboratories. Sandoz stated that the site is designed with advanced technologies to meet future global demand for biosimilar medicines.
The company said the new site complements its existing operations in Slovenia, which include a biosimilar drug substance production center in Lendava and a development center in Ljubljana. Together, these facilities form a vertically integrated hub to strengthen Sandoz’s European manufacturing network and global supply chain resilience.
As part of its broader strategy to expand biosimilar production capacity as global demand increases, Sandoz cited forecasts showing that biosimilar patent expirations could open up a $222 billion market opportunity over the next decade.
The Brnik site is expected to enhance operational control and supply chain agility across Sandoz’s global network while leveraging Slovenia’s engineering talent base, logistical infrastructure, and proximity to academic research, the company said.
Sandoz currently markets 11 biosimilar molecules and is developing 28 more, according to the company. The new facility is intended to support both current and pipeline products in sterile injectable form.
Earlier this year, Swiss-based biopharma company Novartis opened a new $41.2 million viral vector production facility in Mengeš, Slovenia. The site, which the company began building in 2023, will support cell and gene therapies for the treatment of certain autoimmune and genetic diseases and cancers. To date, Novartis has invested approximately $3.6 billion in Slovenia.