Novartis to create 450 new jobs at Aargau site after Kymriah thumbs up

Swiss multinational Novartis is set to create up to 450 new jobs following the investment of 90 million Swiss Francs (£71 million) into the expansion of the company’s Stein site in the northern canton of Aargau over the next three years.

While the company cut 500 jobs in Basel last year, the pharma giant plans to create 260 new jobs initially with the potential for a total of 450 new jobs to be created by 2021.

The first batches of drugs manufactured by the plant are set to be distributed in Switzerland and the European Union within the next two years.

“This investment illustrates the changes the sector is undergoing,” said Matthias Leuenberger, Head of Switzerland at Novartis. “As we invest in new highly specialised technologies, the importance of some traditional areas will diminish.”

The announcement has come after the EU commission approved the company’s CAR T cell therapy Kymriah for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children and young adults. The development of the Stein site is set to ensure the therapy is readily available to patients in Europe. The company already has a US site focused on cell and gene therapies based in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

“The Kymriah approval is a transformational milestone for patients in Europe in need of new treatment options," Liz Barrett, CEO of Novartis Oncology, said in the announcement. "Novartis will continue to build a global infrastructure for delivering CAR-T cell therapies where none existed before, remaining steadfast in our goal of reimagining cancer.”

Louis Goss