The last remaining penicillin production facility in Europe in the Tyrolean Kundl has been modernized and expanded over the past two years.
Vienna (OTS) – „Despite the most difficult conditions, pharmaceutical companies are doing everything they can to continue to manufacture and sell their products in Austria and Europe. The commissioning of the new penicillin production in Kundl represents an important contribution to security of supply for Europe’s patients
“, says PHARMIG General Secretary Alexander Herzog on the occasion of today’s opening ceremonies at the Sandoz location in Kundl, Tyrol. It is also pleasing that this expansion focused on important sustainability factors as well as modernization and capacity expansion itself.
The Sandoz plant in Kundl has been developed into a global center for the production of oral antibiotics within the group over the last few years and is the only fully integrated penicillin production facility remaining in Europe, covering all processes from the active ingredient to the finished dosage form. A total of 4,000 tons of active ingredients are processed there every year into life-saving medications. “In view of the high inflation and the low prices for these often off-patent antibiotics, which are also indispensable for health care, the tendency to increase the price pressure on manufacturers and sales companies through restrictive regulations is not a strategy for the future. We can only continue to work on future-oriented, high-quality healthcare if reimbursement and location policies do not contradict each other,” says Alexander Herzog.
On behalf of the association, he pleads for fair prices for medicines: “A fair price level is an element that strengthens the location when it comes to making Austria and Europe more independent from other regions when it comes to drug production.
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Today’s opening of the ultra-modern production facility was preceded by investments of 150 million euros, of which the Austrian federal government and the state of Tyrol contributed a total of 50 million euros. Herzog says: “Investments like those in Kundl are a very important sign. They reduce dependence on imports of active ingredients and increase resilience in supply chains. The labor market, the economy and, of course, Austria and Europe as a pharmaceutical location as a whole also benefit in the long term from strong domestic or European production. To do this, companies need framework conditions in which they can maintain their supply of medicines at competitive costs.”
About PHARMIG: PHARMIG is the voluntary interest group of the Austrian pharmaceutical industry. The association currently has around 120 members (as of November 2023), who cover a good 95 percent of the medication market. PHARMIG and its member companies stand for the best possible security of supply of medicines in the healthcare system and ensure social and medical progress through quality and innovation.
Questions & Contact:
PHARMIG – Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry
Peter Richter, BA MA MBA
Head of Communications & PR
+43 664 8860 5264
peter.richter@pharmig.at
www.pharmig.at
