Sandoz has invested $90m to build a biopharma development centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia by 2026.

The site will serve to develop biosimilar products and is expected to create 200 new jobs.

This follows Novartis' financial report stating $2.4bn in net sales for Sandoz biosimilars in Q2 2023, along with the proposed 100% separation of Sandoz from Novartis to form an independent company by the end of this year.

The fully independent Sandoz will be headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programme in the US, as per a 1 June press release.

To that end, the development centre is the company’s second major investment in Slovenia. In March, the Novartis spin-off announced plans to construct a biologics production plant in Lendava, Slovenia, to support the increasing product demand.

According to a press release, Sandoz chief scientific officer Claire D'Abreu Hayling said: "The new Biosimilar Development Centre in Ljubljana will build on these capabilities, helping Sandoz to meet rapidly rising global demand for biosimilars and to make an even more meaningful contribution to the long-term viability of healthcare systems around the world."

Biosimilars play an important part in increasing patient access to vital drugs. These are typically 20%-40% cheaper than the original product and are less expensive to develop as the original biologic is known.

The increase in production and development of biosimilars is part of Sandoz’s 2022 Act4Biosimilars initiative to increase the adoption of biosimilars by 30% in more than 30 countries by 2030.