DÜSSELDORF (dpa-AFX) - According to a media report, the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi plans to invest up to 1.5 billion euros in its insulin production in Frankfurt. The company is planning to build a new production facility at its site in the Hochst district and could invest between 1.3 and 1.5 billion euros, reports the "Handelsblatt" newspaper, citing sources close to the German government. Sanofi already operates a production facility for insulin in Hochst. This is to make way for a new plant as part of the switch to more modern technology. A final decision has not yet been made, but preparations for the construction work in Hochst are already underway, it was said.

According to a spokesperson, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is pleased about the investment. "The Federal Chancellor is also looking at this development with a very happy eye," said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. He was not surprised by this.

Hessian state government intervenes

The Hessian state government said that Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) and Economics Minister Kaweh Mansoori (SPD) had been in talks with Sanofi for months about a possible relocation. "A financial contribution from the state is conceivable in principle in order to secure and create jobs, leverage investments and provide incentives for innovation," said a government spokesperson.

In the midst of the debate about the weakening business location and the often criticized shortage of important medicines, a billion-euro investment by Sanofi in Frankfurt would be a positive signal for Germany. Several foreign pharmaceutical companies have recently pledged large investments in Germany: the US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, for example, is investing 2.3 billion euros in the construction of a production facility in Alzey in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Daiichi-Sankyo from Japan, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche and the Darmstadt-based DAX-listed company Merck have also decided to invest billions in Germany.

Good news for Germany as a weakening location

Sanofi did not want to confirm the "Handelsblatt" report when asked. The company is "constantly examining investment opportunities" in order to improve the resilience of its supply chains worldwide and to ensure the supply of important medicines and vaccines to patients, it merely said.

The Frankfurt site is one of Sanofi's largest plants with around 6600 employees. More than 86,000 people work for the Group worldwide. Most recently, Sanofi is said to have considered withdrawing insulin production from Frankfurt and relocating it to France, reports the Handelsblatt. These plans are apparently off the table./als/DP/jha