Biogen officials last week detailed the Massachusetts-based biotech company's plans to upgrade its manufacturing operations around the globe.
John Cox, Biogen's executive vice president of pharmaceutical operations and technology, wrote that the company's broad strategy aims to ensure "an uninterrupted supply of medicines to patients around the world — particularly as our portfolio of therapies grows."
Read more: Supply chains built for growth.
Earlier this month, Biogen announced plans to build a large-scale biologics manufacturing plant in Switzerland at a cost of about $1 billion.
The project is expected to be approved this year and should become operational at the end of the decade. Cox wrote that the Luterbach facility would enable developers to produce antibodies at a faster rate and that the plant would be able to quickly add capacity if needed.
Biogen will also implement the next-generation technologies planned for the Swiss plant at its current operations in North Carolina and Denmark, which will dramatically increase output in the company's mid-stage pipeline programs.
Last week, the company purchased a facility in North Carolina from Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai, which will be used to fill biologics into vials and provides a skilled workforce near Biogen's existing facility in Research Triangle Park.
"As a company, we’re betting on the pipeline products we believe can significantly help patients in the years ahead," Cox wrote. "Regardless of what the future brings, our commitment will always be to ensure we can supply our therapies to patients whenever and wherever they need them."
