Servier has officially inaugurated Bio-S, the pharmaceutical group's first unit dedicated to the production of therapeutic biologics.
The company will use the facility to manufacture biologics derived from living cells for both preclinical and clinical trials, as well as sterile and injectable finished products, enhancing its autonomy in the biologics space.
Bio-S spans 10,000m2, with 1,500m2 of dedicated cleanroom capacity also being present at the site, which is situated in Gidy, Loiret, France.
The site will also feature bioreactors suitable for batches of 15 mL to 200 L for cell culture and bio-engineering, as well as reactors for GMP aseptic liquid fill biomanufacturing — suitable for both vials and syringes.
This new facility follows Servier's €44m investment into its Clinical Support Unit (CSU), which manufactures the group's experimental drugs.
According to Servier, its site will be fully operational by the second half of 2025.
Catering to the growing biologics market
By inaugurating this facility, Servier is able to rapidly produce biological medicines for clinical trials, accelerating their development and potential commercialisation.
This sector is heavily growing, as biological medicines now represent nearly 60% of the therapeutics currently in development worldwide.
However, France currently produces only 10% of the biologics developed in Europe, so Servier wanted to expand the country's presence in this niche.
“We have chosen to invest heavily in a bioproduction unit, in order to strengthen our commitment to accelerate therapeutic progress for the benefit of patients. While we have a pipeline of 61 research and development projects — 50% of which are of potential biological medicines candidates — this strategic investment illustrates our Group’s desire to consolidate its unique value chain in France and Europe, from research to industry, and is fully in line with our 2030 strategic objectives to make Servier a recognised and innovative player in oncology.”
President of Servier, Olivier Laureau, added: "Closely linked to Servier’s next-generation antibody center of excellence based in Denmark, Bio-S reinforces Servier’s ability to develop new precision treatments based on therapeutic antibodies, bispecific antibodies and antibody-conjugated drugs (ACD) for patients with rare cancers.
“Biological medicines represent a new generation of therapies, based on a biological source as the raw material for the active ingredient. They are a major therapeutic innovation. By controlling our value chain from Research to Production, we put Servier in a unique position to develop innovative therapeutic solutions faster, one of the key issues for patients.”