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Released October 09, 2024 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Hot on the heels of its billion-euro investment into French operations, pharma major Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) (Paris, France) has completed work on its first-of-a-kind modular manufacturing plant for vaccines and biologics in Neuville-sur-Saone in eastern France.
The "Modulus" plant, which covers an area of 24,000 square meters, is touted as a "world's first" due to its modular and highly reconfigurable layout that will allow for the manufacture of up to four different vaccines or biologic medicines simultaneously. The plant, which cost 500 million euro (US$554 million) to construct, can be reconfigured in a "few days or weeks" to change technological platforms compared to several months or even years in conventional factories, Sanofi claimed. It has been designed to swap quickly between a variety of manufacturing streams, including live attenuated viral vaccines, recombinant protein or messenger RNA vaccines, as well as treatments derived from biotechnologies such as enzymes or monoclonal antibodies. The project idea, previously known as the Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF), was hatched during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of rapidly reacting to emerging crises and changing demand.
"Traditionally, an industrial vaccine or biomedicine site has buildings, each dedicated to a technology or product," Sanofi stated. "Each element is built in solid form and cannot change once validated by the health authorities. This configuration prevents any rapid change in production capacities, for example to integrate the arrival of a new drug or quickly increase the production of a vaccine in the event of a pandemic. The uniqueness of Modulus lies in the very design of the building, which houses the equivalent of 34 standardized mini-factories, equipped with interconnected equipment, modular according to the required technology, in order to configure the production line corresponding to the needs of the moment."
Paul Hudson, chief executive officer of Sanofi, said: "The creation of Modulus is one of our greatest prides. It is not just a new, more modern, ecological and connected factory, but a revolution in the way we will manufacture vaccines and biomedicines in the coming decades. We have reinvented everything, from the design of the building to the way we collaborated with health authorities, to imagine a factory that will be best able to meet the health challenges of patients in France and around the world."
In May, Industrial Info reported on the company's plan to spend more than 1.1 billion euro (US$1.2 billion) to boost its French bio-manufacturing operations. It committed to building new capacity at its sites in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val de Marne), Le Trait (Seine-Maritime) and Lyon Gerland (Rhône). This came on top of previous pledges topping 2.5 billion euro ($2.7 billion) made since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the company confirmed plans to invest 1.3 billion euro (US$1.5 billion) to build a new insulin plant at its Frankfurt Höchst campus in Germany. Ending speculation that the company would move insulin production to France, the new highly automated plant will cover an area of about 36,000 square meters and replace existing manufacturing facilities at the site. It will also add a few hundred workers to the 4,000-strong workforce already employed there. For additional information, see August 13, 2024, article--Sanofi Spending $1.5 Billion in Germany to Boost Insulin Supply and May 29, 2024, article--Sanofi Makes $1 Billion Investment in French Operations.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The "Modulus" plant, which covers an area of 24,000 square meters, is touted as a "world's first" due to its modular and highly reconfigurable layout that will allow for the manufacture of up to four different vaccines or biologic medicines simultaneously. The plant, which cost 500 million euro (US$554 million) to construct, can be reconfigured in a "few days or weeks" to change technological platforms compared to several months or even years in conventional factories, Sanofi claimed. It has been designed to swap quickly between a variety of manufacturing streams, including live attenuated viral vaccines, recombinant protein or messenger RNA vaccines, as well as treatments derived from biotechnologies such as enzymes or monoclonal antibodies. The project idea, previously known as the Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF), was hatched during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of rapidly reacting to emerging crises and changing demand.
"Traditionally, an industrial vaccine or biomedicine site has buildings, each dedicated to a technology or product," Sanofi stated. "Each element is built in solid form and cannot change once validated by the health authorities. This configuration prevents any rapid change in production capacities, for example to integrate the arrival of a new drug or quickly increase the production of a vaccine in the event of a pandemic. The uniqueness of Modulus lies in the very design of the building, which houses the equivalent of 34 standardized mini-factories, equipped with interconnected equipment, modular according to the required technology, in order to configure the production line corresponding to the needs of the moment."
Paul Hudson, chief executive officer of Sanofi, said: "The creation of Modulus is one of our greatest prides. It is not just a new, more modern, ecological and connected factory, but a revolution in the way we will manufacture vaccines and biomedicines in the coming decades. We have reinvented everything, from the design of the building to the way we collaborated with health authorities, to imagine a factory that will be best able to meet the health challenges of patients in France and around the world."
In May, Industrial Info reported on the company's plan to spend more than 1.1 billion euro (US$1.2 billion) to boost its French bio-manufacturing operations. It committed to building new capacity at its sites in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val de Marne), Le Trait (Seine-Maritime) and Lyon Gerland (Rhône). This came on top of previous pledges topping 2.5 billion euro ($2.7 billion) made since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the company confirmed plans to invest 1.3 billion euro (US$1.5 billion) to build a new insulin plant at its Frankfurt Höchst campus in Germany. Ending speculation that the company would move insulin production to France, the new highly automated plant will cover an area of about 36,000 square meters and replace existing manufacturing facilities at the site. It will also add a few hundred workers to the 4,000-strong workforce already employed there. For additional information, see August 13, 2024, article--Sanofi Spending $1.5 Billion in Germany to Boost Insulin Supply and May 29, 2024, article--Sanofi Makes $1 Billion Investment in French Operations.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
