Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today it will invest 450 million Swiss Francs over the next three years to establish a new diagnostic manufacturing facility at the Suzhou Industrial Park, in Suzhou, China. The new manufacturing site sets out to address the continuously growing demand for diagnostic tests in China and the Asia Pacific region. As a new addition to Roche's global diagnostic production network, the Asia manufacturing facility will focus on producing Immunochemistry and Clinical Chemistry tests, products that are crucial to clinical laboratory testing. The site plans to build a workforce of over 600 employees over the next several years.
"We are excited to expand our diagnostics value chain in China to include manufacturing," Roland Diggelmann, COO of Roche Diagnostics, comments on the company's new Asia manufacturing facility. "Roche is committed to investing in China and the Asia Pacific region. The new manufacturing site will enable us to meet the growing demand for our diagnostic products, ensuring our continuous contribution to the health of people in China and the Asia Pacific region."
The new Roche Diagnostics manufacturing site will be the eighth worldwide and the first in the Asia Pacific Region. The facility will focus on packaging operations in the first phase and will be fully operational by 2018. The new site will not only strengthen the global manufacturing network of Roche Diagnostics, but also contribute to the company's strategy for sustaining its leadership position in the region.
Roland Diggelmann added: "We are confident that by establishing our manufacturing footprint here in Suzhou close to our China operations, we can further increase our market responsiveness and contribute to the overall competitiveness of our business."
As the worldwide market leader in in-vitro diagnostics, Roche Diagnostics has had a presence in Asia Pacific for 40 years and employs over 4,000 people, across 15 countries in the region. Its market leader position extends to the Asia Pacific region and China. Roche Diagnostics is committed to providing innovative tests and technologies to labs and hospitals worldwide, helping healthcare professionals to make the right decisions for their patients, allowing payers to invest in the right solutions for the future of sustainable healthcare, and most importantly, empowering people to have better control over their health and wellbeing.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world's largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and neuroscience. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Roche's personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostics that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. Founded in 1896, Roche has been making important contributions to global health for more than a century. Twenty-four medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organisation Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and chemotherapy.
In 2013 the Roche Group employed over 85,000 people worldwide, invested 8.7 billion Swiss francs in R&D and posted sales of 46.8 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.