Serono invests $200m in Israeli facility
facility that will be used to produce Rebif, the company's drug
treatment for multiple sclerosis.
Swiss biotechnology group Serono has unveiled a major $200 million (€168m) investment in a new facility, based in Ness Ziona in Israel, that will be used to produce the company's drug treatment for multiple sclerosis.
The investment will be made via Serono's InterPharm subsidiary, and will be the largest ever undertaken in the biotechnology sector in Israel, according to a Reuters report. It is expected to spread out over four or five years and centre on the setting up of advanced biotechnology production lines.
InterPharm developed Serono's MS drug, called Rebif (interferon beta-1a), which has become the Swiss firm's biggest earner since breaking into the US market late last year.
InterPharm has developed a new production process for the drug, which has been approved by European health authorities, and is faster, more efficient and requires fewer employees.
