In France and Singapore, Sanofi has inaugurated its revolutionary new production units called ‘Modulus’, designed by PM Group.
PM Group is a large company that specialises in the design, construction, and commissioning of high-tech facilities across the globe.
The special aspect of Modulus is that it can manufacture up to four vaccines or biomedicines simultaneously. As such, these new facilities will produce Sanofi’s next vaccines and biological drugs.
Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, said: “The creation of Modulus is one of our greatest prides, the result of Sanofi’s unique industrial know-how.
"It is not just a new, more modern, ecological and connected factory, but a revolution in the way we will manufacture vaccines and biomedicines in the coming decades.
"We have reinvented everything, from the design of the building to the way we collaborated with health authorities, to imagine a factory that will be best able to meet the health challenges of patients in France and around the world."
What is Modulus?
Modulus is a type of production facility for biotech products, such as vaccines and biologicals.
What is unique is that they can be reconfigured in a matter of days or weeks to change technological platform.
This compares to several months or longer in conventional factories.
Products will include attenuated viral vaccines, recombinant protein or messenger RNA vaccines. The units can also accommodate treatments derived from biotechnologies including enzymes or monoclonal antibodies.
These new facilities are the result of an investment of nearly €500m and will be operational at the end of 2025, after qualification of the facilities and validation of the manufacturing processes.
We have reinvented everything, from the design of the building to the way we collaborated with health authorities
How does design make them work for this?
The innovation of the Modulus facilities lies in their design. They house the equivalent of 34 standardised mini-factories.
Traditionally, an industrial vaccine or biomedicine site has buildings, each dedicated to a technology or product. Each element is built in solid form and cannot change once validated by the health authorities. This configuration prevents any rapid change in production capacities, for example, to integrate the arrival of a new drug or to rapidly increase the production of a vaccine in the event of a pandemic.
For Modulus, this is not an issue. Each "mini-factory" is equipped with interconnected equipment, modular according to the required technology. Production lines can then be configured to meet current needs.
“PM Group were designers on the Modulus facilities project from concept phase through to detailed design. They are the result of true partnership and innovation collaboration with our clients and the commitment of our team,” said Aidan Hennessy, Senior Project Manager, PM Group.
“Their world-class design was unique in that it was replicated across two international locations. Standard facility design is becoming more common and we are proud to have been key designers for these highly innovative projects,” Hennesst said.
The Modulus facilities are not just modern sustainable and connected factories. They are a revolution in the way Sanofi will manufacture vaccines and biomedicines in the coming decades. Modulus is one of Sanofi’s key industrial investments aimed at supporting the company’s ambition to become the world leader in immunology, targeting diseases such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and chronic bronchitis.
Top image: Aidan Hennessy (right) and Leonard Sheil, PM Group, at the French Modulus launch event in Neuville-sur-Saône
Image credit: PM Group