Bachem acquires third Swiss site

Peptides giant Bachem has agreed to acquire an undeveloped site covering 155,000 m2 in Sisslerfeld, north-western Switzerland, from DSM in order to manage growing demand. It has already acquired the first plot and others will follow in time. Terms are not being disclosed.

Initially the firm plans to invest CHF 750 million up to 2030, creating over 500 jobs. Up to 3,000 in total could be created, on top of the 1,200 Bachem already employs, with 800 more expected from other ongoing expansions. More details will be released on this and the start of construction after the planning phase is completed in 2024.

This announcement followed a multi-stage selection process, which first came down in favour of north-western Switzerland “due to the region’s strong locational conditions, including a skilled workforce, a network of suppliers, and a high concentration of pharmaceutical and chemical companies”. Sisslerfeld was then chosen mainly because it offered the necessary space requirements.

Bachem had already expanded considerably at its two other Swiss sites in Bubendorf and Vionnaz, plus others at Torrance and Vista in the US, and St Helens, UK. At Bubendorf, its headquarters site, the company began constructing ‘Building K’, its largest peptides and oligonucleotides production facility to date, in 2021. Once complete in 2024, this will more than double capacity at Bubendorf. It will “strongly leverage green chemistry and automation technologies”, Bachem added.

Bachem has already announced that it has signed two contracts to provide large volumes of peptides from within Building K to unnamed customers. These cover order volumes worth about CHF 25 million in 2023 and CHF 150 million in 2024. Negotiations are in process for “further significantly higher orders” in the following years.