Boehringer Ingelheim reassessing €1.2bn Austria manufacturing plant

The global economic landscape and supply chain challenges have led Boehringer Ingelheim to reexamine plans to construct a biologics plant in Bruck an der Leitha, Austria.

Fresh off the back of opening its €700 million ($761 million) biomanufacturing plant in Vienna, Boehringer Ingelheim revealed plans to invest a further €1.2 billion to build another facility in Austria.

The announcement made in German in April 2022 signaled the BioNEX facility would provide additional capacity for biologics production through construction of up to seven buildings at the Eco Plus business park in Bruck an der Leitha for both Boehringer Ingelheim’s own products and for others. Over 800 jobs were expected, while a groundbreaking ceremony was planned for the first quarter of 2023 with completion scheduled for 2026.

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However, with the first quarter 2023 nearly at an end, Boehringer Ingelheim has confirmed to BioProcess Insider the project is on hold.

“By the end of 2022 we finalized the acquisition of the land for the production site,” spokesman Matthias Sturm said. “However due to the economic landscape, global market dynamics and ongoing disruption to worldwide supply chain, our company is currently reviewing the project with regard to the planned timelines, budget as well as production set-up and capacity requirements.”

Sturm continued: “The review and further optimization will be concluded by mid-2023,” adding more information regarding the adapted design of the plant, along with the timeframe, will be revealed.

No further specifics were divulged, but the industry has been hit by macro-economic factors ranging from high inflation to reduced funding over the past year, while the high demand for products, capacity, and consumables seen during over the past few years has plummeted as the pandemic wanes.

Recently bioprocess vendor Thermo Fisher blamed “macro-economic conditions” for its decision to cut jobs at a facility in Utah, while the uncertain climate has caused CDMOs including Catalent to put the brakes on various capacity investments.

This article’s headline was changed on 23 March 2023 3.30pm ET to better reflect Boehringer Ingelheim’s plans to re-evaluate the project.