On November 17, Roche announced its plans for the further modernization of the infrastructure at its Basel site. To this end, the pharmaceutical firm will be investing 1.2 billion Swiss francs to upgrade the northern part of the site. Since 2014, the company has already invested a sum of 3 billion Swiss francs in its Basel location.
The investment of 1.2 billion Swiss francs will be used to build another 72-meter-high, 13-story research and development building, among other things. The aim here is to provide attractive laboratory workstations for up to 450 researchers. Moreover, a new production building is to be built for the synthetic and chemical production of medicines. The existing building will also be refurbished and expanded, while the plans additionally include a new building for the Institute of Human Biology with space for up to 250 researchers. For this, an existing building will be converted and fully remodeled.
“The new buildings will expand the infrastructure for future innovations along the entire pharmaceutical value chain, from research to production”, comments Jürg Erismann, Head of the Basel/Kaiseraugst site, in the press release. He adds: “This is another clear commitment to the Basel research and production site and to Switzerland”. It is expected that the construction work on the research building and other building renovations will be completed by 2030.
As Roche explains in a video covering its site development plans in Basel, wide, generously proportioned green spaces will be created in the southern part of the area. To this end, the research and office buildings will be removed. According to a press release, the cantonal government of the canton of Basel-Stadt also approved a corresponding development plan on November 17. These plans also include a central building for visitors and employees in the park and a possible third high-rise building depending on Roche’s needs in the future.
