After the American acquisition of its manufacturing subsidiary, in particular Doliprane, the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is still trying to ensure that it will maintain its presence in France and convince of its innovative capacity. “We will continue to produce massively in France. We produce 30% of our total volumes in France, we will maintain this percentage”insisted Charles Wolf, CEO of Sanofi France, on Friday, November 15 in Lyon, during a carefully prepared communication day.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the creation of its headquarters in Gerland, the group announced an investment of 40 million euros, destined for two new bioproduction platforms. The first refers to thymoglobulin. In 2023, the Gerland center produced 1.4 million vials of this polyclonal antibody, used to fight organ transplant rejection, compared to 140 ten years ago. In total, 70,000 patients from 74 different countries benefited last year from this product exported from Lyon. The modernization project of this platform aims to increase production capacity, thanks to new processes.
The second platform financed by this investment must produce a new monoclonal antibody for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in the preclinical and clinical phase, which may affect 200,000 patients in France, and make Gerland the only producer of this recently developed drug.
An early perspective
The presentation of this investment gives Sanofi the opportunity to remember its strategic decision, adopted in 2019, to favor the development of high-tech and high-performance products. “Sanofi has chosen innovation and, by developing molecules for new solutions, France’s historical footprint in this trajectory is reinforced”explains Béatrice Corpet, director of the Gerland site. A way of saying that the Doliprane episode is part of an anticipated perspective.
“Doliprane will continue to be in pharmacies, 97% of the volumes will continue to be manufactured in factories in France. We have been preparing for years for the separation of conventional production. We need to focus on innovation. The Lyon headquarters is a perfect marker of our strategy”adds Charles Wolf.
The French directors of the pharmaceutical group affirm that Sanofi has become “the first investor in research and development in France”affirming a global investment of 2.5 billion euros in innovation since the Covid-19 period, in 2020. The group does not communicate, however, the amount of public aid received for the modernization of its platforms, nor the 14 million paid by France . 2030 in 2024 in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, but specifies that it remains “the first industrial employer in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region”with 5,000 employees distributed mainly in three large headquarters, in Lyon, Marcy-l’Etoile, and in the Neuville-sur-Saône factory, recently visited by the President of the Republic.
