Swiss generics and biosimilars manufacturer Sandoz has commenced construction of a new, state-of-the-art biosimilars production center in Brnik, Slovenia, further strengthening its footprint in the country.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 1, 2025.

The new facility, valued at USD 440 million, will focus in the production of sterile injectable biosimilar products, covering all stages from preparation and filling to assembly, packaging, and quality control.

This project pushes Sandoz’s total planned and ongoing investment in Slovenia to over USD 1.1 billion by 2029.

Designed to support the company’s expanding biosimilars portfolio, the plant aims to meet rising global demand and ensure a reliable, sustainable supply of "made-in-Europe" biosimilars.

It complements other key Sandoz projects in the country, including a new biosimilar drug substance production center in Lendava and a development center in Ljubljana.

"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,” said Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor.

“As the global leader in the field, we are investing to meet rapidly growing patient demand. With a commitment of over USD 1.1 billion, we are proud to significantly expand our biosimilar manufacturing capacity in Europe as Slovenia’s largest direct foreign investor. This is another major step that will position Sandoz uniquely to capitalize on the unprecedented biosimilars market opportunity of the next decade,” he added.

Glenn Gerecke, Chief Manufacturing and Supply Officer at Sandoz, highlighted that the project marks another important milestone in building their independent manufacturing network, enhancing their “control, resilience and agility” across the global supply chain.  

 “We recognize the strategic value Slovenia brings for us as a company: a highly skilled talent pool in natural sciences and engineering; a central location with world-class logistics infrastructure; cost-competitive production; and a stable, innovation-driven environment closely connected to academia and research."

Following its spin-off from Novartis in 2023, Sandoz now operates as a standalone generics and biosimilars powerhouse, with 11 marketed molecules and an industry-leading pipeline of 28 biosimilars.