Novartis is continuing its multiyear overhaul with new plans to shutter its production facility in Wehr, Germany.
The move, announced Tuesday, will eliminate about 220 jobs, according to Novartis. The Swiss pharma expects the site to close by the end of 2028.
The Wehr facility primarily focuses on older drugs in Novartis’ portfolio, utilizing traditional solid oral dosage forms like tablets and capsules. The planned closure in Wehr will not affect the supply of Novartis’ medicines, the company said.
Novartis’ latest manufacturing reshuffling represents another shift from older technologies in favor of high-growth modalities.
Located between the Rhine Valley and the Black Forest, the Wehr facility has been in operation since 1943. But in a May 5 press release in German, Novartis said: “The site is no longer competitive.”
Instead, Novartis is pouring 35 million euros into building a new production facility in the eastern German city of Halle specialized in radioligand therapies. That new plant is expected to begin operations in 2027.
“The company remains firmly committed to Germany as a business location and will continue its involvement in research and development, particularly in the area of clinical trials, and its close collaboration with scientific and medical institutions as well as patient groups,” according to the May 5 release translated by Google.
The planned shutdown in Wehr follows a similar move by Novartis at its Stein facility in Switzerland. In November 2025, Novartis announced that it will discontinue the production of oral solids and the packaging of sterile products at the Stein site by the end of 2027, leading to the reduction of about 550 positions. The plant will continue commercial production of complex, personalized cell therapies and serve as a center of excellence for sterile drugs.
Simultaneously, the company said it plans to invest $80 million in its Schweizerhalle site near Basel to beef up production of siRNA therapies.
Novartis is adjusting its European manufacturing footprint as it’s making major investments in expanding its U.S. presence.
Last week, Novartis unveiled plans for a new active pharmaceutical ingredient facility in Morrisville, North Carolina. The 56,200-square-foot plant will make ingredients for solid dose tablets, capsules and RNA therapeutics.
In December, Novartis broke ground on a more than 700,000-square foot flagship manufacturing hub in North Carolina. The project includes the construction of the Morrisville facility, a new site in Durham encompassing two new facilities, and the expansion of an existing Durham facility.
Build-out of the Morrisville plant rounds out Novartis’ $23 billion U.S. investment pledge shared a year ago, according to the company.
Source – https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/novartis-layoffs-germany-wehr-plant-closure-2028