German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel met with Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Dr. Olivier Brandicourt, Boris Rhein, Hesse’s Minister for Science and the Arts, leaders of the Fraunhofer Society and researchers from Sanofi to discuss the current status of antibiotics research and to gather ideas for encouraging and fostering additional antibiotics research initiatives.

The G7 Summit, hosted by Chancellor Merkel and to be held June 7-8 in Germany, will address the topic of antibiotic resistance. At the beginning of 2014, Sanofi and the Fraunhofer Society, a German research institute, established a Natural Product Center of Excellence where scientists from Sanofi and Fraunhofer work to identify novel active compounds to accelerate the discovery and development of new antibiotics, particularly to combat gram-negative bacteria. The Sanofi-Fraunhofer Natural Product Center of Excellence is affiliated with the LOEWE Center for Insect Biotechnology in Gießen, Germany.

Following the antibiotics research discussion, Chancellor Merkel and Dr. Brandicourt officially inaugurated a new manufacturing facility that is expected to supply Sanofi’s new insulin globally. Sanofi has invested more than EUR 1 billion ($1.09 billion) in high-technology at Frankfurt-Höchst within the past 10 years. At the end of 2014, Sanofi announced further investments of EUR 200 million ($219 million) and, as part of that, created 500 new jobs within the last six months focused on expanding Sanofi’s biologics manufacturing capacity. In 2015, Sanofi intends to invest another EUR 100 million ($109 million) to further enhance its high technology production capabilities. Sanofi’s presence in Frankfurt includes research and development, biotechnology, production and worldwide distribution of pharmaceutical products, as well as development and production of medical devices.

Source: Sanofi