German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel met with Sanofi chief executive officer Dr. Olivier Brandicourt, Hesse's minister for science and the arts Boris Rhein, leaders of the Fraunhofer Society and researchers from Sanofi to discuss the current status of antibiotics research and to gather ideas for encouraging and fostering additional antibiotics research initiatives.
The emerging concern about antibiotic resistance has led to calls by elected officials and global health leaders to invest in developing new antibiotic therapies. In fact, the G7 Summit, hosted by Chancellor Merkel and held 7–8 June in Germany, will address the topic of antibiotic resistance. At the beginning of 2014, Sanofi and the Fraunhofer Society established a Natural Product Center of Excellence where scientists from Sanofi and Fraunhofer work to identify novel active compounds to accelerate the discovery and development of new antibiotics.
Following the antibiotics research discussion, Chancellor Merkel and Dr. Brandicourt officially inaugurated a new, high-tech manufacturing facility that is expected to supply Sanofi's new insulin to patients throughout the world. This is one of the most cutting-edge facilities for large-volume manufacturing of sterile biologics and incorporates the most modern technology enabling Sanofi to achieve the highest sterility standards in the industry.
"Sanofi is very proud that Chancellor Merkel visited our Frankfurt site, which is Sanofi's largest, integrated site," said Dr. Olivier Brandicourt. "The Chancellor interacted with research leaders from Sanofi and the Fraunhofer Society to discuss ideas for fueling additional antibiotics research and inaugurated Sanofi's new, high-tech manufacturing facility, which is Sanofi's global production facility for its new insulin therapy for people with diabetes."
Sanofi has invested more than €1 billion in high-technology at Frankfurt-Höchst within the past ten years. At the end of 2014, Sanofi announced further investments of €200 million and, as part of that, created 500 new jobs within the last six months focused on expanding Sanofi's biologics manufacturing capacity. In 2015, Sanofi intends to invest another €100 million to further enhance its high technology production capabilities. Sanofi's presence in Frankfurt includes research and development, biotechnology, production and worldwide distribution of pharmaceutical products, as well as development and production of medical devices.