The Biotech Manufacturing site of Merck in Aubonne, canton of Vaud, exists since 1984. The German company has just inaugurated, on this same site, its new packaging center where nearly 27 million francs were invested. Once fully operational, over 12 million boxes of medication and four million auto injectors per year will be produced and distributed to about 150 countries through automated equipment and robotized logistics.
The main part of the building, with a surface of 8,000 m2 on four floors, will be used for inspection, packaging and distribution. According to an article from the daily newspaper Le Temps, the other part of the site will be devoted to cancer immunotherapy, in particular a treatment called Bavencio, which will be used to fight bladder cancer and Merkel cancer, a type of skin cancer.
A well-established company in Switzerland
Merck, with 2,000 employees and 11 sites in Switzerland, has invested one billion Swiss francs in the country over the past ten years. The Aubonne site employs more than 700 people.
“With Aubonne and Vevey nearby, Switzerland is our prime hub for the manufacturing of biotech medicines for patients all over the world. It plays an instrumental role for the growth of our Healthcare business sector and the launch of new products”, explains Stefan Oschmann, CEO and Chairman of the Merck Executive Board, in a press release.
