Posted by Heidi Schwartz
Bayer HealthCare has announced a $100 million investment in its Berkeley, CA manufacturing site to build a product testing facility that will support the next generation of treatments for patients with hemophilia A. The investment represents the company’s dedication to science and innovation in the life sciences. The Bay Area is the U.S. headquarters for research, development and biotech manufacturing for Bayer HealthCare.
“Building upon our legacy in hemophilia A, we are delighted to continue Bayer’s leadership in working to bring treatment options to patients around the world,” said Joerg Heidrich, Senior Vice President for Product Supply Biotech and Site Head at Bayer Berkeley. “As the Bay Area’s third largest biotech employer, we are also proud to be making this contribution to the world’s richest center of biotech R&D, investment, and production.”
Bayer has a long history in hemophilia, with more than 25 years of research and development on products and approaches to meet varied needs of patients with hemophilia A. The new facility will be built at Bayer’s Berkeley manufacturing site.
“The new product testing facility will test Bayer’s investigational products in accordance with rigorous global regulatory requirements,” said David Weinreich, MD, Head, Global Development, Specialty Medicine at Bayer. “With this announcement, we are thrilled to strengthen our commitment to the hemophilia A patient community that Bayer has served for more than a quarter century.”
Along with the new facility, this investment is expected to create 325,000 hours of jobs with local union contractors in trades ranging from glaziers to iron workers to sprinkler fitters.
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 60,700 employees (as of December 31, 2014) and is represented in more than 100 countries.
Bayer HealthCare is a global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical therapies that improve human health. Aside from Bayer HealthCare’s manufacturing facility in Berkeley, the company’s presence on the U.S. West Coast includes its U.S. research hub, the U.S. Innovation Center in San Francisco.
