Bayer To Invest $462 M To Expand Mfg Capacity for Contraceptives

Bayer has announced plans to invest over EUR 400 million ($462 million) to increase production capacity for its contraceptives with the addition of two new facilities, respectively in Turku, Finland, and the Alajuela, Costa Rica.

The investment includes the expansion of its site in Turku, Finland to include the addition of a new production facility and the construction of a new production site in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The expansions are part of plan by Bayer to increase supply and access to its contraceptives in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In Costa Rica, Bayer will build a new production facility, specialized in the production and supply of long-acting reversible contraceptives. The new production plant at Coyol Industrial Park in Alajuela, Costa Rica is expected to start the supply of long-acting reversible contraceptives to LMICs by 2024.

As the company announced in June (June 2021), Bayer is also investing EUR 250 million ($303 million) to build a new pharmaceutical plant and concurrently modernize its existing production plant in Turku, Finland. The new production facility, which will also produce long-acting reversible contraceptives, is slated to be completed by 2025.  

Both sites will produce hormonal implants and hormonal intrauterine systems (IUS) and will support Bayer’s goal of providing 100 million women and girls in LMICs with access to family planning by 2030. The United Nations Population Fund and the United States Agency for International Development have recently added one of Bayer’s hormonal IUS to their respective product catalogues, which is part of international organizations’ goals to provide women and families in LMICs with more contraceptive options.

Source: Bayer