Boehringer Ingelheim will invest nearly $270 million into a new Biologicals Development Center (BDC). The center will be located at the company’s research and development site in Biberach, Germany. The new center is expected to increase development capacity for biologics, and according to Corporate Senior Vice President Development at Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Fridtjof Traulsen, biological entities now account for forty percent of the company’s research pipeline.
Earlier this year, Boehringer Ingelheim announced its intent to invest $23.3 billion into research and development and at the same time, it set out to submit 15 new drugs for approval by 2025. The BDC appears to be a significant step towards this goal, with Dr. Fridtjof Traulsen commenting, “The [center] is another key building block supporting the company’s long-term strategy for increasing the pipeline’s share of biologicals. This is particularly driven by two of our core areas, immune oncology and immunology.”
Boehringer Ingelheim plans for the BDC to integrate biologicals analytical and process development as well as manufacturing for clinical studies into a single unit, maximizing synergies. The new center will require 500 employees, an increase of about 100 in biological development compared to today.
(Source: Boehringer Ingelheim)