As of: February 6, 2024, 7:00 p.m
By: Wolfgang Schörner
Comments
Press
Split
One of the million-dollar projects currently underway at Roche in Penzberg: the new construction of a diagnostics research building on the southern border of the factory site.
© Wolfgang Schörner
Last year, the Roche Group implemented or initiated investments worth over 1.4 billion euros at its German locations, including Mannheim and Penzberg.
In addition, Roche is examining additional investments in Germany worth billions.
Penzberg - The Roche Group will have implemented or initiated sales of over 1.4 billion euros at its German locations in 2023.
At the same time, Roche is examining additional investments in Germany of around one billion euros for the next three years.
The company announced this on Tuesday at its annual media conference in Mannheim.
Claudia Fleischer, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics GmbH, described the investments as a “clear commitment to Germany as a location” and a “confidence in politics”.
In the total of 1.4 billion: three projects in Penzberg
According to Roche, the sum of over 1.4 billion euros that the company announced for 2023 includes three projects in Penzberg.
On the one hand, this is the research building for the diagnostics division, which is currently being built on the southern edge of the factory premises.
Roche is investing up to 250 million euros in this alone.
This also includes a new diagnostics production center costing around 600 million euros on the northeastern edge of the Roche expansion area.
The investment was announced last year.
According to managing director Fleischer, construction is scheduled to begin this year.
The company named a new gene therapy center as its third project in Penzberg, for which Roche is investing around 90 million euros and which will begin operations in the spring.
Roche wants to explain more details specifically about Penzberg next week.
The number of employees is increasing - especially in Penzberg
The number of employees at the German locations increased by 236 employees to 18,242 last year.
Mannheim is the largest plant.
The increase was primarily due to the Penzberg location.
According to Roche, there are now 7,730 employees there, around 200 more than a year ago.
Managing director Fleischer said that Roche employs people from 104 nations in Germany.
Diversity makes the company strong.
Plus in total sales in Germany
Prof. Hagen Pfundner, CEO of Roche Pharma AG, announced on Tuesday that Roche's total sales in Germany grew by 2.4 percent to around 8.3 billion euros last year.
In the pharmaceutical division alone there was an increase in sales of four percent, with the majority coming from new products in the areas of ophthalmology, neurology and oncology, among others.
The expiry of patents for drugs such as Avastin and Herceptin, for which there are now biosimilars, has been successfully addressed.
In the diagnostics division, however, there was a decline in sales of 31 percent.
Daniela Kahlert, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics Deutschland GmbH, explained this with the expected decline in Covid-19 business.
But there is steady growth in the core business, she said.
Difficult conditions
Pharma board member Pfundner spoke of a good result against the background of difficult conditions.
As an example, he cited the GKV Financial Stabilization Act, against which Roche and other companies have filed a constitutional complaint.
The law penalizes innovation and endangers international competitiveness, he said.
My news
Serious accident near Zellsee: Driver leaves the road and crashes into a tree
The first trees will fall from Monday: B2 expansion near Wielenbach startsreading
Men only allowed behind the counter: women's carnival in the Tiefstollenhalle Peißenberglesen
Large demonstration against right-wing extremism in Weilheim: Only Free Voters supported the action don't read
Construction work for three-lane expansion begins - the first trees fall for the renovation of the B2 near Wielenbachlesen
The city urgently needs revenue - and therefore wants to increase two taxes at the same time
The federal government “has taken our concerns seriously”
However, he highlighted the “National Pharmaceutical Strategy” adopted by the federal government as a positive development that could correct this if implemented consistently.
This would address many improvements, for example for research, accelerating processes and digitalization.
The federal government “has taken our concerns seriously,” he said.
In this context, Pfundner pointed out that the industrial healthcare industry is subsidy-free and has more employees in Germany than the automotive industry.