Novartis has announced that it will invest up to 90 million Swiss francs over the next three years to construct an advanced production facility for cell and gene therapies in Stein in the canton of Aargau.
The facility will produce Kymriah, a CAR-T cell therapy that was recently approved in the EU for two different indications. Kymriah is used in the EU and US to treat acute lymphatic leukaemia in children and adolescents as well as for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. An application for regulatory approval for Kymriah in Switzerland is still pending.
“The decision announced today to build a facility in Stein for the production of cell-based therapies is an example of how Novartis is investing in innovative technologies in Switzerland,” said Matthias Leuenberger, president of Novartis Switzerland.
Initially, some 260 new jobs are expected to be created in Stein, but this could be expanded to 450 jobs over the three years. At the same time, the new facility for innovative cell and gene therapies is said to be a response to the changing production landscape. As Leuenberger explained: “As we invest in new, advanced technologies, the importance of some traditional industries will diminish.”