Sandoz outlines European antibiotic manufacturing expansion

Novartis generics division will invest €150 million during the next 3-5 years at its Kundl, Austria and Palafolls, Spain sites while phasing out production of oral APIs at Les Franqueses site

Sandoz has announced plans to strengthen its European antibiotics manufacturing network by further expanding production capabilities in Kundl, Austria and in Palafolls, Spain.

The company's first step will be to invest more than €100 million to introduce new manufacturing technology for the production of oral amoxicillin, an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for its leading penicillin product.

Novartis' generics and biosimilars divison said the investment would enable it to leverage its position in Kundl as the hub and center of the only major end-to-end antibiotics supply chain in Europe, covering all production steps from API to finished dosage forms (FDF) for many leading antibiotics.

For the Palafolls expansion, Sandoz will invest around €50 million in new production technology and increased capacity for the production of sterile penicillin APIs and sterile API mixtures.

However, the company said that as part of its network modernization plan, it will phase out current production of oral APIs at its Les Franqueses site in Spain, which it plans to close in 2024. Sterile API production is planned to transfer from Kundl to the new facility at Palafolls in 2025.

Sandoz said it was "committed to its people and will offer full support to its associates who might be impacted" by these changes.

Despite the temporary drop in demand for antibiotics -- which Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor described as "the backbone of modern healthcare" -- due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company said it is confident in the mid- to long-term prospects of the segment.

The investment comes shortly after the company announced in February plans to acquire GSK’s global cephalosporin antibiotics, reinforcing its commitment to manufacturing antibiotics.