Daiichi Sankyo bolsters oncology portfolio with $1bn site expansion

Situated about 60 kilometers north of Munich, the Pfaffenhofen site focuses on cardiovascular diseases. With this expansion, the firm will develop oncological therapies for the treatment of breast, lung and stomach cancers, with special focus on its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) technology. 

Construction is underway and the expansion is expected to create 350 jobs. Additionally, Pfaffenhofen innovation center will be completed by 2030.

“By expanding our oncology activities, we aim to make an even greater contribution to medical progress in the future,” said Masahiro Kato, chairman of the management board of Daiichi Sankyo Europe.

“In this way, we can offer patients new treatment options. With its many years of expertise, our Pfaffenhofen site has all the prerequisites for this.” 

The expansion was announced in wake of health minister Karl Lauterbach’s visit to the center. He called the investment “a very good news for patients and for Germany.” Moreover, Lauterbach promised government’s support to the biopharmaceutical firm by “removing bureaucratic hurdles with the medical research act and creating fast approval paths […] enable the use of health data for research projects.” 

Daiichi is focused on the development of ADCs and the expansion will add a building dedicated to it, which is expected to be completed by 2026. 

“The fact that we will increasingly focus on oncological therapies in Pfaffenhofen […] we can make a significant contribution to the increased global demand for ADC cancer therapies,” said Matthias Kühn, site manager at Daiichi Sankyo Europe in Pfaffenhofen. 

In October 2023 Merck & Co. and Daiichi Sankyo partnered in a deal worth up to $22 billion to co-develop and market three ADCs, namely, patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd) – in Phase II, Phase I/II, and Phase I clinical trials, respectively.