Generic and biosimilar specialist Sandoz is strengthening its footprint in Slovenia, pledging $440 million to set up a new biosimilar facility for sterile product manufacturing some 24 miles from the nation's largest airport. The project brings the company’s total planned and ongoing investments in the central European country to more than $1.1 billion.

Construction has already kicked off at the new site in Brnik, Slovenia, marking the latest milestone in Sandoz’s plan to claim a “significant part of an unprecedented market opportunity,” the company said in a July 1 press release. Sandoz was referring to the estimated value of biosimilar patent expirations, which it expects to reach a whopping $222 billion over the next decade.

"Biosimilars is the fastest-growing segment of our pipeline as the need of patients and healthcare systems for these critical medicines continues to grow rapidly,” CEO Richard Saynor said in a statement. “As the global leader in the field, we are investing to meet rapidly growing patient demand.”

To prepare for the biosimilar boom, Sandoz has already put down roots in Slovenia with a previously announced biosimilar drug substance production center in Lendava and a biosimilar development centerin the country’s capital of Ljubljana. Those sites will complement the newest $440 million plant, which is expected to open its doors in 2028 and will focus on making injectables for Sandoz’s existing and upcoming array of biologic copycats. 

The new plant’s functions will span preparation, filling, assembly and packaging for the company's biosimilar portfolio, plus onsite quality control, Sandoz said. 

All told, the $1.1 billion in Slovenian commitments through 2029 helps “significantly expand” Sandoz’s biosimilar manufacturing capacity in Europe and makes the company Slovenia’s largest direct foreign investor, Saynor commented.

"Our investment in biomanufacturing in the heart of Europe marks another important milestone in building our own independent manufacturing network—one that enhances our control, resilience and agility across the global supply chain,” Sandoz's chief manufacturing and supply officer, Glenn Gerecke, added.

According to Gerecke, Slovenia was chosen for the “strategic value” the country brings with its strong talent pool, central location and cost-competitive production. Sandoz has said it's mapping out its Slovenia investments in a bid to establish an “end-to-end leading European biosimilar hub."

Sandoz, a Novartis spinout, is responsible for bringing to market the world’s first biosimilar in 2006 and has since stacked its biosimilar portfolio with copycats of AbbVie’s Humira, Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara and Biogen’s Tysabri, to name just a few. 

The company’s pipeline is populated by 28 biosimilars and roughly 450 generics, with a handful of upcoming launches set to grow that roster later this year, including that for copies of Amgen’s leading bone meds Prolia and Xgeva. 

Last year, Sandoz grew its revenues by 9% to $10.4 billion.