Merck has completed a €15m investment project at its biotech facility in Spain that will allow it to up production of its fertility and growth hormone disorder treatments by 50%.
The German company said it would also be increasing the number of staff it employs at the facility by 20% thanks to the two-year programme.
The Tres Cantos plant is Merck’s main site for the production of active substances in its fertility treatment Gonal-f and endocrine and metabolic disorders treatment Saizen, for which global demand is rising steadily.
Simon Sturge, chief operating officer of Merck’s biopharma business, said: “The demand for our core portfolio of medicines keeps increasing worldwide.
“The expansion in Tres Cantos is part of our continuous commitment to deliver high quality medicines at the right time to our patients.”
Merck was able to raise its sales forecast for 2016 earlier this year after a particularly strong second quarter performance, spearheaded by a 23% growth of Gonal-f that saw its sales reach €209m.
The Darmstadt, Germany-headquartered firm has invested around €250m in its healthcare manufacturing network so far this year, including in a new regional hub in Côte d’Ivoire launched just this week.
The hub will serve Merck’s operations in French-speaking countries in Central and West Africa, and will oversee two minilabs donated by the company to aid in the region’s fight against counterfeit medicines.
Thierry Hulot, head of Merck’s biopharma global manufacturing and supply, commented: “We are continuously investing in our manufacturing network to maintain state-of-the-art industry level and adapt its capacity to patient needs for our medicines.
“We are very pleased to have completed the expansion of our Tres Cantos biotech manufacturing facility which plays a leading role in our manufacturing network and exemplifies our culture of safety at work, quality and service.”