Roche Biotechnology Plant, Basel Roche Biotechnology Plant, Basel, Switzerland

The new biotechnology plant currently being constructed in Basel by Roche will be for the production of Monoclonal Antibodies (MAB). The plant is being developed on the existing Roche production site as a new building (Building 95).

The new building is being built in place of the old chemistry production building (Building 47). The building will have two basement floors and eight upper floors and have a height of 40m.

The building was designed by the Basel architect firm of Herzog & de Meuron. The investment for the new facility is estimated at around $326m (CHF400m) over a three year period. The process design of the plant is being handled by Linde-KCA who has successfully completed the conceptual, basic and detail design phases of the plant. Linde-KCA personnel will be present on-site to support the client during installation and commissioning.

CHARACTERISTICS

The plant was conceived according to modern criteria and will be used for the biotechnology based large-scale production of antibodies and other cell culture products. The facility has been constructed as a multi-product one so that two different products can be manufactured in parallel.

The plant has a capacity of 6 × 12.5m³ fermentation vessels and two downstream processing lines for protein purification and final product manufacture.

CONSTRUCTION

Construction work was started in August 2004, with the excavation and the beginning of the work for the steel frame taking place in the autumn/winter of 2004. The start of production is expected from 2007 with the validation and qualification of the new plant taking place in the second half of the year. The first production from the plant is planned for the middle of 2009. The plant will provide approximately 150 new positions for qualified employees.

The first product will be Bevacizumab, a therapeutic antibody, and the active substance of the cancer therapeutic Avastin. The plant will handle the production of Avastin for the European market. In the future the production of additional biotech products is planned but some of these are still in the development phase.

Avastin is the first in a class of drugs used to treat metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). It is called an anti-angiogenic agent, and it is different from other agents used to treat this type of cancer. The medicine is directed against Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), which takes a central role in angiogenesis or blood vessel growth (the drug in effect can cut off the blood supply to the tumour).

OTHER PLANS

In September 2006 Roche unveiled its plans for the further development of its headquarters in Basel. To bring those employees back to the Wettstein headquarters who are currently spread out among the various other Basel sites, Roche has planned a new office high-rise building (Building 1) that will accommodate some 2,400 workplaces.

In addition, an older laboratory building no longer in use will be replaced by a new research and development building (Building 97). The two projects, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, will cost a total of CHF800m. Building 1 will have a gross floor area of 75,000m² and will be constructed on the southern perimeter of the site (between the Rhine and Grenzacherstrasse). Building 1 will cost CHF550m and could be completed by 2011. The architects worked closely with city planning officials to create a visual design that integrates the new high-rise aesthetically within the urban landscape.

Building 97 on the northern perimeter of Roche will be a new research and development facility that will replace an older facility between Grenzacherstrasse and Wettsteinallee. Construction work is expected to be completed in 2010 at a cost of roughly 250 million Swiss francs.