New development laboratories opened at Lek
- With a EUR 7.5 million investment in the Lek Development Center Slovenia in Ljubljana, Novartis continues to invest in Slovenia.
- The new laboratories at the Development Center Slovenia will enable also the development of solid and sterile dosage forms for cancer treatment.
- Over the last four years, the Development Center Slovenia developed and launched more than 100 new products for major global markets.
Today, new development laboratories enabling also demanding solid and sterile dosage forms for cancer treatment to be developed, were opened at the Lek Development Center Slovenia. This investment worth EUR 7.5 million further strengthened the importance of the development center within Sandoz.
The Development Center Slovenia is a leading Sandoz center for development of technologically demanding products. It develops products for the most important markets in Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan as well as the fast-growing markets of Brazil, Russia, Mexico and China. »With these new, state-of-the-art laboratories we have significantly increased our development capacities and expanded opportunities for developing new, complex medicines which will enable us to even better support Sandoz’ global development strategy,« said Matjaž Tršek, Head Development Center Slovenia.
In addition to opening new laboratories, the Development Center Slovenia also upgraded some existing laboratories. »As part of the extension of our development center, we have increased the existing capacity for development of solid dosage forms, including new analytical laboratories and expansion of the labs for the so called in vitro and in vivo correlation studies. All key technologies are now gathered in one place, enabling us to increase flexibility and capacity thus enhancing our ability to react rapidly to the needs of development projects,« explained Luka Peternel, PhD, Head Pharmaceutical Development at Development Center Slovenia.
Over the last four years, the Development Center Slovenia, where a quarter of all global Sandoz development projects are carried out, has developed and launched more than 100 new products, predominantly medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, anti-infectives, cancer, allergy treatment and symptom relief, urology and gastrointestinal disorders, pain management therapies and neurological diseases. In recent years, the investment in the Development Center Slovenia has increased considerably. Since 2015, the number of employees has increased by approximately 20%. Today, the development center employs more than 330 people, one third of whom hold a doctorate in science.
With this new investment in the Development Center Slovenia, Novartis continues to invest in Slovenia. Since 2003, it has invested more than EUR 2.3 billion in Slovenia.
Novartis is the leading provider of medicines in Slovenia, where Lek, Novartis Pharma Services and Sandoz, operate. Together we are building and maintaining the reputation of a dynamic, ethical, and trusted pharmaceutical company. Lek develops, manufactures, and markets effective, safe, and high quality medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients. With our knowledge, quality, and experience we have gained an important role in Novartis' organizational structure, especially in the Novartis Technical Operations, Global Drug Development, Novartis Business Services, and the generic division Sandoz. We are the leading Sandoz development center, and one of the key development sites for technologically complex projects. We invest a great deal in the development, education, and training of our employees. Over the last seven years, the company has created more than 2,250 jobs, making us one of the biggest employers in Slovenia. Novartis invested in Slovenia more than EUR 2.3 billion since 2003.
About Sandoz
Sandoz, a Novartis division, is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars and a pioneer in the emerging field of prescription digital therapeutics. Our purpose is to pioneer access to healthcare by developing and commercializing novel, affordable approaches that address unmet medical need. Our broad portfolio of high-quality medicines, covering all major therapeutic areas and increasingly focused on value-adding differentiated medicines, accounted for 2018 sales of USD 9.9 billion. Sandoz is headquartered in Holzkirchen, in Germany’s Greater Munich area.
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About Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 108 thousand people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.
This press release contains statements and conclusions based on projections of Lek’s future business operations. These estimates are derived from the best information currently available. In case these forecasts prove unreliable, the actual results could prove different from those projected.
For additional information contact:
Katarina Klemenc
Corporate Communications
Lek Pharmaceuticals d. d.
Phone: +386 1 580 22 43
Fax: +386 1 580 24 32
katarina.klemenc@sandoz.com
