No deduction to China: Penicillin manufacturer remains in Europe

filmmakers have long been aware of the special connection of Austria to the Penicillin. The life-saving antibiotic played in 1949, the rotated Black-and-white classic "The third man" next to Orson Wells, a drug pusher gang and the Vienna's sewer system a major role. Channel guides, and the "third man Museum" to remind you. But what few people know is that Austria is now the last remaining site for the antibiotic production in the Western world.

Andreas Mihm

Economics correspondent in Vienna.

for A time it looked as if the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Sandoz would give up the production in Kundl in Tirol, as of 2016, the second-to-last work in Frankfurt. But now it is different. After the Austrian government had declared the Penicillin production in Kundl for the "economically important critical infrastructure", the location will receive.

EUR 150 million to be invested in the coming five years, in order to secure the long-term competitiveness of the built-in antibiotics production, informed the for the generics business, competent Novartis subsidiary on Monday. They wanted to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished dosage forms (FDF) on the latest technology and optimized processes.

there is No talk of a brain drain to China, together with India, an important producer in the global antibiotics market. In the past years, there was always talk of the town because of dirt or of non-delivery after an accident that affected up in German doctor's offices and pharmacies: medicines were not available, patients had to be switched to other drugs. The Corona pandemic has thrown in with the interruption of supply chains once again a spotlight on it. Since then, a lot of thinking about the shift in the production of medicinal products. The Federal government has taken in its Agenda for the presidency of the EU.

dependence in the drugs supply was in crisis

Austria now and even nails with heads: Kundl instead of China. The government in Vienna, the 50 million euros of research funding and new investment premiums costs. So the grants were provided to Novartis for this Investment in view. The current crisis not only show that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the key industries of a country, but also the clear dependence of the drug supply from Asia, which has developed in the last few years, said Minister of economic Affairs Margaret Schramböck (ÖVP). "We have been made aware of how quickly we become dependent on other countries. Therefore, our strategic duty to safeguard key industries and to make Austria more resilient it is.“

more resistant the solution is not to just make the location in the Sandoz now promises to generate for the next ten years, Penicillin. "The securing of a self-sufficient drug manufacturing in Austria and in Europe goes beyond the economic Benefits," said Schramböck. The strong dependence on global supply chains in the pharmaceutical supply for Europe was revealed, in particular, in the Wake of the Corona-crisis.