Slovenia's Lek breaks ground for $90 mln biosimilars centre

The facility measuring about 9,500 sq m will employ 200 experts, Lek said in a statement on Friday.

"The establishment of this state-of-the-art facility in Ljubljana represents a strategic leap forward in Sandoz' mission to pioneer access to high-quality biosimilars and sustain the future of accessible healthcare," Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor said.

The investment is part of Sandoz' broader $500 million commitment to biosimilar development and production in Slovenia, ensuring access to critical medicines, promoting sustainable practices, and consolidating its global leadership in biosimilars, Lek noted.

Lek started the construction of a 400 million euro biosimilars production plant in December and expects to start operating it in full swing at the end of 2026. The company plans to open 300 jobs at the high-tech production centre.

In August, Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis transferred its ownership of the entire equity capital of Lek to generic medicines manufacturing unit Sandoz as part of the process of spinning off Sandoz from Novartis.

($ = 0.9379 euro)