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Biogen Idec invests
USD 340 in Copenhagen
During the summer of 2004, the biopharmaceutical company Biogen
Idec officially announced that the company is going to start the
construction of a large-scale biologic manufacturing facility in
Hillerød north of Copenhagen. The facility will employ 200
employees and is expected to be fully operational in 2008. Biogen
Idec expects to invest USD 340 million to build the production
facility, which will be one of the largest facilities in the world
producing drugs for scleroses and psoriasis.
The American biotech company Biogen Idec develops and produces
drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, cancer
and other diseases. Biogen Idec Inc. was formed in 2003 from the
merger of the world’s two leading biotechnology companies, Biogen
Inc. and Idec Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Founded in 1978, Biogen
is the world’s oldest independent biotechnology company and with
about 4,000 employees, Biogen Idec is now the third largest company
in the world in the biotech industry.
The new facility in Denmark will be used for the manufacturing
of Biogen Idec’s existing drugs for scleroses and psoriasis as well
as a new drug in the pipeline – Antegen. Biogen Idec expects that
Antegen will be approved by the authorities in the US and Europe in
the near future.
Copenhagen and Medicon Valley – the right choice
The opportunities in Copenhagen and Medicon Valley, which is a
region with a world-class position in the biotechnological and
pharmaceutical field, were the major deciding factors, when Denmark
was chosen among a group of other nations.
“Denmark has a number of competitive advantages: a highly
educated workforce, a pro-business environment and a strong
research climate in Medicon Valley”, explains Jim Mullen,
Chairman and CEO of Biogen Idec.
He points at the well-functioning collaboration between
companies and Danish authorities and the well-developed
infrastructure as some of the important decisive factors of
Copenhagen and Medicon Valley, which is a well-known region among
biotech companies.
Medicon Valley encompasses the Danish capital region Greater
Copenhagen and the Skåne region in Southern Sweden. Medicon Valley
hosts an impressive number of biotechnological, pharmaceutical and
medical device and service companies. The region is also a
nourishing environment for new life science enterprises. Since
1997, 61 new biotech companies have emerged, bringing the total
number of companies to 125 in an area of only 14,000 square
kilometers.
Novo Nordisk, one of the most prominent companies in Medicon
Valley, is going to be the neighbour to Biogen Idec’s production
facility. Jim Mullen is looking forward to becoming neighbours to
Novo Nordisk.
“I consider it positive when companies locate themselves in
clusters. Together we can attract even more qualified labour to the
region and in Medicon Valley, we are not going to compete with
other companies about qualified employees,”he explains.
The Danish labour market, the size and the qualifications of the
labour force in Copenhagen/ Medicon Valley were key issues when
Biogen Idec’s chose Copenhagen. Medicon Valley is the largest
pharmaceutical and biotechnological growth centre in Scandinavia
and one of the strongest in Europe where 41,000 people are employed
in the life sciences sector.
“The size, quality and language skills of the Danish labour
force matched our drive to attract the best minds in the world to
work at Biogen,”Jim Mullen continues.
The region is home to 26 university hospitals, 14 universities
and 5 science parks and the growth in the life science sector has
been nurtured by strong, well-funded biomedical research at an
academic level. In Medicon Valley, about USD 270 million is spent
on research every year and the number of published scientific
papers is among the highest in Europe on a per capita basis.
In addition, Jim Mullen points at Copenhagen’s top-class
infrastructure where for example, Copenhagen Airport is largest in
Northern Europe. The airport in Copenhagen has also been rated the
best airport in Europe in 2004 in terms of service level.
“We value Denmark’s commitment to the biotech industry and
excellent infrastructure, including accessibility to an airport
with daily flights to all of Europe and overseas.”
A long and necessary investment process
The decision to invest USD 340 million is obviously not made
overnight and the process from Biogen’s initial examinations of
Copenhagen to the future inauguration of the building has been a
long but necessary process.
The cooperation between Biogen and Copenhagen Capacity started
in Biogen’s headquarters in Massachusettes, USA, in March 2000,
when Copenhagen Capacity and Invest in Denmark were invited to give
a presentation of the opportunities in Copenhagen/Medicon
Valley.
Then followed 14 months of research where Biogen benchmarked
different locations in Europe on a large number of variables.
During this period, Copenhagen Capacity worked closely with Biogen
and provided the company with extensive information and
calculations. In order to do so, Copenhagen Capacity mobilised its
extensive network of private companies and public authorities
notably the municipality of Hillerød, Frederiksborg County and the
National Public Employment Services.
“We are pleased with the outstanding and close cooperation we
received during the site selection process,” Jim Mullen says.
“It was critical to our decision to locate our first major
international manufacturing facility in the municipality of
Hillerød.”
The construction of the site was postponed in 2003 because
Biogen merged with Idec but Jim Mullen never had any doubts that
the plans about a manufacturing facility in Hillerød was going to
become reality.
On the 243,000 sqm. site in Hillerød, Biogen Idec will build a
block consisting of the production facility, two warehouse
buildings and a three-storied laboratory-building with
administration and lunchroom facilities. According to Birgitte
Thygesen, Vice President of Biogen Idec Denmark, the constructions
of the buildings are not the most complicated. “ It’s the
complicated and high-tech production plant inside the
building”, the Vice President of Biogen Idec Denmark
explains.
For Copenhagen Capacity, the project and cooperation with Biogen
Idec is one of the largest single projects so far. Copenhagen
Capacity functioned as the single entry point to Biogen Idec and
communication between Biogen Idec and all persons and institutions
in Denmark went through Copenhagen Capacity.
“Copenhagen Capacity is proud and happy, the Biogen entrusted
us with this important role in a project of significant importance
to Biogen’s global development strategy”, says O. Rolf Larssen,
Managing Director of Copenhagen Capacity. “The decision is a
very important contribution to future international promotion of
Copenhagen/Medicon Valley in the biotechnological and
pharmaceutical filed,” he adds.
More information
Visit Biogen
Idec here or
the Danish
Biogen Idec-site here.
