Exyte breaks ground on mRNA competence centre for WACKER

Published: 11-Jul-2022

The global engineering expert has been named as EPCQ contract partner for the modular biopharmaceuticals build

Exyte, a global leader in the design, engineering and delivery of facilities for high-tech industries, has announced a milestone in the building of its mRNA competence centre at the Halle Biotech site of Wacker Chemie AG (WACKER).

The project is making a considerable contribution towards strengthening the biopharma and life sciences segment at Exyte, as well as to the company's ambitious "Pathway to Ten" growth path.

A groundbreaking ceremony at the start of July 2022 marked the start of the construction work at the Wacker Biotech site in the Weinberg Campus technology park.

Exyte also takes on overall responsibility for quality assurance

The WACKER Group concentrates its biopharmaceuticals activities within Wacker Biotech, a full-service provider for microbial manufacturing of pharmaceutical proteins. At the new competence centre, WACKER will manufacture active ingredients based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) used in coronavirus vaccines and in medicinal products for the treatment of cancer amongst others.

On a total floor area of 7,400 sqm gross, of which 1,600 sqm will be cleanroom, four new production lines are to be built. Part of the capacities will be made available to the German government for its programme to prepare for future pandemics. The aim of the Centre for Pandemic Vaccines and Therapeutics established by the German Federal Ministry of Health at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut is to make pandemic vaccines available within a very short time period. This is to avoid bottlenecks in production and distribution of vaccines and thus damage caused by future pandemics.

"The manufacture of pharmaceutical actives is subject to the highest standards. As such, the requirements for plant construction are just as high," said Melanie Käsmarker, Managing Director at Wacker Biotech. "In Exyte, we have the perfect partner for this project."

Exyte takes over as general contractor for "Fast Track" project

Exyte is EPCQ (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Qualification) contract partner and general contractor for WACKER's highly complex Halle project.

All work relating to the new construction project is provided by Exyte or by subcontractors on behalf of Exyte - from architectural design, technical building infrastructure and engineering of the complete plant to delivering the processing plant, automation, commissioning and qualification.

Exyte not only offers the complete range of services, but also takes on overall responsibility for quality assurance and delivering the project within the set timeframe and budget. In central Europe, and in particular, in the German-speaking countries, Exyte is the only provider in the Biopharma and Life Sciences segment offering such a comprehensive range of services.

The new building is to be completed and production to commence in under 24 months.

"This speed of implementation sets new standards in the industry. With the help of our engineering expertise and our innovative solutions, our customers can make vital pharmaceutical products available faster than ever before," said Wolfgang Büchele, CEO of Exyte.

In order to minimise time to market for new vaccines, Exyte uses the proven high-quality ExyCell system for the rapid, modular construction of biopharma production facilities developed by Exyte.

Sales to double by 2027

Exyte has set itself ambitious growth targets: with its "Pathway to Ten", the company is planning to reach sales of ten billion euros by 2027. This would be twice the figure for 2021. The Biopharma and Life Sciences segment is to grow even more rapidly. Last year, the division increased its sales by 60 per cent. Envisaged sales in Biopharma and Life Sciences are to increase by an average of 26 per cent per year until 2027. This means that sales in this segment are to quadruple by 2027 compared to 2021. With sales of 1.5 billion euros, the segment will then generate 15 per cent of Exyte's total sales. Currently, the company is expanding its presence in Europe and the US to this end. "Our high-tech factories enable our customers to deliver innovative products and services that improve the quality of life. Better medical care, faster healing processes, a higher life expectancy - all this facilitated with the support of Exyte," Büchele points out.

Exyte draws on extensive and long-standing technical and process engineering expertise in the Biopharma and Life Sciences segment. The company is the preferred partner of its customers in supporting them with the efficient construction of new production facilities and the modernisation of existing ones. Customers include global leaders in industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, specialty and fine chemicals, medical products, consumer care as well as food and diet.

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