Biopharmaceuticals made in Schleswig-Holstein: In this interview, Richter BioLogics CEO Kai Pohlmeyer explains why the contract manufacturer has invested 100 million euros in the expansion of its plant in Bovenau and what this means for the Cluster Life Science Nord.

Biopharmaceuticals from Bovenau

Bovenau is nestled between Rendsburg and Kiel. In mid-September of this year, the small town near the Kiel Canal made headlines in the European biotechnology industry: after three and a half years of construction, Richter BioLogics inaugurated a new production facility at a ceremony attended by more than 60 invited guests. The expansion of the P2 building triples the contract manufacturer’s production capacity for biopharmaceuticals.

According to Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther, the new production facility, which cost around 100 million euros, is the largest investment by a foreign company in Germany’s northernmost state – and it will create more than 60 new jobs.

In the future, the state-of-the-art facility will be able to use microbial production to manufacture protein-based active ingredients and products based on so-called plasmid DNA – ranging from antibodies and vaccines to nanobodies.

In addition, the company, which has a Hungarian mother and is headquartered in Hamburg, announced that it has changed its name to Richter BioLogics. Life Science Nord Magazine spoke with CEO Kai Pohlmeyer about the new location and its role in the Life Science Nord cluster.

Interview with Dr. Kai Pohlmeyer

Richter BioLogics, together with its parent company Gedeon-Richter, has invested 100 million euros in the expansion at the Bovenau site. How did this decision come about in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic?

Pohlmeyer: With the opening, we tripled our production capacity for recombinant proteins, antibody fragments, plasmid DNA and vaccines and doubled our workforce at the Bovenau site. The reason for this was very strong demand from our existing customers, with full utilization of our previous single production line in Bovenau. In 2019, we had three customers with products in phase III clinical trials who approached us and asked if we could produce on a commercial scale in the event of approval. One big pharma company basically put the gun to our chest and said that the risk of operating commercially with just one production line is too high for us. We needed more back-up capacity. So if we wanted to grow, we had to do something. One of the products has received marketing authorization and will fully utilize the capacity of our new, large 1,500-liter production line from next year. So the capacity expansion in Bovenau was not a poker game, but was based on a solid business case.

What other factors were important?

We also benefited from our balanced project mix, which allows us to fill our production pipeline with innovative biotech products. At the same time, our long-standing customers in the pharmaceutical industry provide a reliable foundation. Although we are seeing a dip in the number of new project inquiries in the biotech sector, this is more than compensated for by existing customers. This year, we will increase our sales for the 12th year in a row.

Due to the good capacity utilization of the new production plant, a third production line is already being discussed, as you said at the official opening of P2. What is planned?

With the new large 1,500 liter and smaller 300 liter production lines, we are increasing production capacity at the Bovenau site from 40 to 120 batches per year. Additional capacity is available at our Hannover facility. Our goal for the next two years is to fully utilize the new production lines. We are currently planning an additional 3,000 liter line, as we have several customers with antibody products in phase II and III who are considering commercial production at our site, which usually requires a higher number of doses.

More than 60 skilled workers were hired in the course of the expansion of production in Bovenau. How is this possible in the midst of a global skills shortage crisis in your sector?

We started the search well in advance – as early as last year – which didn’t necessarily have a positive impact on the income statement. We were also aware that rural Bovenau is not the hub of the world and would not automatically attract skilled workers. Today, we are doing better than I would have expected. The fact that the German biotech industry is currently weakening and experienced engineers and scientists have been made redundant has helped us in recruiting staff – even in southern Germany, where we previously had no chance.

What does it mean to your company to be part of the Life Science Nord cluster? And what potential do you see in the north as a location for pharmaceutical production?

With our headquarters in Hamburg and our expanded production facility in Bovenau, we are closely integrated in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors in the Northern Region. We maintain close partnerships and a lively exchange with universities, scientific and educational institutions here. This also helps us to attract well-trained specialists and young talent. The Northern Region offers us further growth. Not only do we have the space we need to continue expanding our capacities, we also have an excellent network in the region and the necessary support from the world of politics.

The expansion that has already taken place and is still planned is considerable. What are Richter BioLogics’ long-term plans?

In the long term, we want to gain a better foothold in the US market, where we already generate the majority of our sales. I cannot imagine growth through mergers and acquisitions at the moment, except in terms of breadth, i.e. in strain development and processes upstream of production. Instead, we will continue to focus on organic growth. The 2024plus strategy envisaged a Marketing & Sales branch in the USA. However, in view of the fact that the capacity of our expanded production facilities in Bovenau is already more than 50% utilized, we have postponed these plans by two to three years.

Which products do you specialize in at the Bovenau site?

Regarding the product mix, we will continue to focus on plasmid DNA (pDNA) and antibody fragments. Although we find the current fast-growing market for antibody conjugates interesting, we will not be addressing it, as the parallel production of such toxic products would neither be accepted by our customers nor can it be realized in-house. However, we do see great opportunities for growth in the field of nanobodies and antibody fragments.

Interview: Thomas Gabrielczyk, Philipp Graf

Featured image: © Richter BioLogics