Bayer Invests $150 Million to Build New Cell Culture Technology Center in Berkeley to Spur Innovation of Biotech Therapies

BERKELEY, Calif., May 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer announced today it will invest $150 million in its Berkeley, CA pharmaceutical development and manufacturing site to build a Cell Culture Technology Center that will be used to accelerate the development of biological therapies. Once complete, the new facility will support Bayer's growing portfolio in biologics to serve multiple patient populations.

"Bayer is deeply committed to bringing innovative medicines to market that provide significant patient benefit. This investment allows Bayer to expand our biologics development and launch capabilities, as we advance our R&D programs internally and through strategic collaborations," said Wolfram Carius, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Head of Bayer Pharmaceuticals Product Supply. "We are especially proud to bring this investment to Berkeley, where Bayer has been for many years, and to the greater San Francisco Bay Area, the birthplace of biotechnology and a global epicenter of drug development innovation."

The new Cell Culture Technology Center will be built on Bayer's existing Berkeley campus, home to its recombinant Factor VIII manufacturing center that produces hemophilia A treatments for patients in nearly 80 countries around the world. The new 40,000 square foot facility, which is expected to be ready for clinical production in late 2021, will support the development of emerging therapies in Bayer's portfolio with an emphasis on oncology, cardiology and additional specialty care therapeutic areas.

Bayer has selected Fluor for design and construction, and GE Healthcare for the integration of its FlexFactory™ technology platform into the Center.

"Bayer's Cell Center Technology Center will combine automation, digital capabilities and single-use bioprocessing technologies to streamline production to allow us to bring new medicines to patients faster," said Judy Chou, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Global Head of Bayer Biotech. "We've chosen to partner with Fluor and GE Healthcare on the Cell Culture Technology Center to leverage their expertise in designing flexible, scalable facilities for the future."

Two years ago, Bayer oriented its pharmaceutical strategy around key specialty care therapeutic areas, and recently has increased its R&D focus on open innovation. The Center is being designed to support candidates in the drug pipeline, and enable development of new assets resulting from a range of collaborations coming from Bayer's open innovation approach.

"Fighting cancer on all fronts requires fast and scalable innovation, as well as solutions based on digital insights," said Emmanuel Ligner, President and CEO of GE Healthcare Life Sciences. We are delighted to work with Fluor to offer our FlexFactory™ platform to help Bayer quickly and easily establish development and production capacity in oncology and other therapeutics."

Bayer has established innovation hubs in scientific hotspots around the globe to advance its focus on excellence in research, development, and groundbreaking technologies. One of the largest biotech employers in the Bay Area, Bayer's presence on the U.S. West Coast includes a pharmaceutical development and manufacturing facility in Berkeley and the Innovation Center in San Francisco, home to the first CoLaborator, an incubator for life science start-ups.

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2018, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Bayer is one of the largest biotech employers in the Bay Area and a global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical therapies that improve human health. Bayer's presence on the U.S. West Coast includes a pharmaceutical development and manufacturing facility in Berkeley and the U.S. Innovation Center in San Francisco, home to the first CoLaborator, an incubator for life science start-ups. Find more information at www.bayer.com.

© 2019 Bayer
BAYER and the Bayer Cross are registered trademarks of Bayer.

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Forward-Looking Statements 
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

SOURCE Bayer

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