Established in 2001, Sanofi’s state-of-the-art production facility in the city of Geel, Flanders, has longstanding expertise in the manufacture and distribution of biological drugs or biologics for immune disorders – such as the severe skin condition atopic dermatitis – and rare diseases – such as the muscle- and nerve-damaging Pompe disease. 

Through extensive R&D and innovation, for which Flanders’ world-class life sciences industry is the ideal fertile ground, the French company has perfected complex production methods to cultivate therapeutic proteins that are used as active ingredients in life-saving medicines.

Now, Sanofi once again has chosen its top-notch plant in Geel to set up production for its latest generation of biologics. The site is one of Sanofi’s four main global biotech production facilities around the world. 

With its investment of EUR 120 million in Flanders, the biopharma multinational will expand its Geel site to accommodate the highly specific operations needed to produce a therapeutic protein for the treatment of hemophilia, a rare blood disease.

The brand-new production line will be composed of fully digitized systems and equipment which have intelligent software and sensors on board to flag maintenance issues. Prioritizing quality at all times, Sanofi is also setting up comprehensive training programs to develop and test new quality control processes.

Moreover, green initiatives at the Geel site – such as cleantech solutions to reuse water and monitor energy usage – will contribute to Sanofi’s ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

The installation of this new production line officially started on 19 October 2022 in the presence of Flanders’ Minister-President Jan Jambon, who expressed his delight about Sanofi’s new investment and efforts “to anchor its world-class biotechnology activities in Flanders.”

Furthermore, Sanofi Geel’s general manager Julien Moindrot points out that governmental support “also played an important role in the decision to further expand our infrastructure and start the production of a new drug in Geel.”