With the start of construction on a EUR 100 million biotech production plant near the Croatian capital Zagreb, Pfizer continues its investment in the country. The creation of the plant is the result of a partnership with the Swedish company specialised in rare diseases, Sobi, and Pfizer-backed CDMO Pfizer CentreOne .
The future facility, which is expected to be up and running in 2024, stands on the site of Pfizer’s Haspira company, which has already had a plant there since 2015 producing biological substances for drugs, final products for cancer and rare diseases, and components for COVID vaccines. The new facility will spread over 4,000 square metres on 11 hectares of land and will be dedicated to drugs for rare conditions.
Steven Stears, Vice President Biotech Cluster Lead at Pfizer commented on the importance of the site. “It is really nice to see how the technical expertise in biotechnology that we have here in Zagreb is fully recognised and used. I am convinced that we will continue to see Zagreb play a key role in Pfizer’s production network and support our PC1 business”, he said.
Sobi’s Head of Global Technical Operations and Senior Vice President, Christine Wesström said about the partnership: “Our partners help us to ensure the global supply of high-quality, sustainable and cost-effective treatments. We have found strong partners in Pfizer and PC1 [and] we are delighted this very successful cooperation has now reached Croatia.”
“ … the Government of the Republic of Croatia is continuously working to make Croatia an attractive place to invest in medicines, their research and development. [This] new biotechnological production plant … will certainly contribute to social well-being and strengthening the resilience of drug supply chains”, said Nataša Mikuš Žigman, envoy of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.
