• The Community of Madrid has declared this project to be strategic: it will create 200 new direct jobs for 2027 and raise the plant’s production capacity to 500 million injectables
• The Group Is positioned among the largest industrial pharmaceutical groups in Spain and as one of the world leaders in the production of injectables

Madrid, 11 July 2024. The Investment Accelerator of the Community of Madrid has declared the expansion that Laboratorios ROVI, through its subsidiary ROVI Pharma Industrial Services, S.A.U., will be undertaking at its plant in San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid) to be a strategic project. With this expansion, the biotech company plans to increase its current production capacity significantly through the start-up of a new high-speed line with a capacity of 100 million syringes. This expansion project will entail an investment of close to 60 million euros.

The expansion, for which the company has acquired adjacent land that increases the total area to 54,715 m2, will mean an increase in the production capacity of over 31.5%, from 300 million prefilled syringes and 80 million vials in 2024 to estimated totals of 420 prefilled syringes and 80 million vials in 2027. Thus, the Group continues to position itself among the world leaders in the manufacturing of injectables and as one of the largest industrial pharmaceutical groups in Spain, with five plants engaged in the company’s own production, three engaged in contract manufacturing, and a ninth plant, currently under construction, that will favour the vertical integration of its low-molecular-weight heparin production chain.

The San Sebastián de los Reyes facility produces, among other injectable products, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, other high-value-added medicines will be produced on a global scale for other customers, as may be seen from the agreement that ROVI reached in April with a global pharmaceutical company to contribute to the manufacture of prefilled syringes.

To respond to the forecast increase in activity at this facility, the company needs to incorporate new buildings to expand the production areas, with new lines, a new quality laboratory building and offices, as well as auxiliary storage and maintenance buildings, among others. The project plans to provide the industrial complex with new accesses and improve the internal traffic, in addition to increasing the number of parking spaces to meet the needs of current and future employees.

Reinforcement of production capacity

Likewise, this project is of significant social interest. First, it responds to the need to reinforce the production capacity even further, given the possibility of health crises in the region and/or the whole country. Second, it contributes to increasing wealth and employment in both the town of San Sebastián de los Reyes and the Community of Madrid overall. In this respect, the company is committed to creating quality jobs and promoting employee training to maintain the necessary level of skills.

According to group estimates, for the production area, it is calculated that 52 new jobs will be created in order to start up the new production line. In addition, employees will be hired in other areas of the plant, such as Administration, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, IT, Safety, Health and Environment, etc. In total, the different investments to be made between 2023 and 2027 to increase the plant’s production capacity will entail the creation of 200 new direct skilled jobs.

In the words of Juan López-Belmonte, ROVI’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: “The expansion of our San Sebastián de los Reyes plant is a fundamental step in ROVI’s strategy as a biotech industry leader. We are convinced that this investment will not only strengthen our production capacity and competitiveness, but will also contribute significantly to improving people’s health and the local and national economies. At ROVI, we remain committed to innovation, ongoing investment and a vision of the future that allows us to continue to grow and provide high-value-added solutions to our customers and society in general”.

Furthermore, the project will also make a decisive contribution to the Spanish Government’s new Strategic Plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry evaluated in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and responds to the new proposals made in 2023 for a European Directive and Regulation for the pharmaceutical sector.

About ROVI

ROVI is a pan-European pharmaceutical company that specialises and engages in the research, development, contract manufacturing and licensing of small molecules and biological specialties. The company, in a continuous expansion process, has subsidiaries in Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Poland and has a diversified marketing portfolio of over 40 products, among which its flagship product, bemiparin, now present in more than 60 countries all over the world, should be highlighted. Likewise, ROVI markets its enoxaparin biosimilar, developed in-house, in Europe and this product is already present in 40 countries. ROVI is continuing to develop the ISM® technology platform, a leading-edge line of research in the field of prolonged drug release, with proven advantages. For more information, please visit www.rovi.es.