Ready and running – WACKER Biotechnology Center in Munich
The focus will be on research in manufacturing processes for biopharmaceuticals and ingredients for food and dietary supplements
Wacker Chemie AG has officially opened its WACKER biotechnology Center in Munich. Eminent politicians and guests from the business and research community were present to mark the opening of the new research center. The company has invested a double-digit million-euro sum in the facility.
Bioreactors play an important role in the fermentative production of ingredients for food and dietary supplements. WACKER Biotechnology Center uses bioreactors with sizes ranging from a few milliliters to pilot reactors with a capacity of 200 liters.
WACKER
“The WACKER Biotech Center will allow us to concentrate and intensify our biotech research activities. We see tremendous growth potential in this area, which is why we have decided to go ahead and invest in this sector – even in economically challenging times,” highlighted WACKER CEO Christian Hartel at the opening ceremony. “With the new Biotechnology Center, WACKER is not only securing high-quality jobs, but also strengthening Bavaria’s expertise in biotechnology. This demonstrates a strong commitment to Bavaria as a business location, and is exactly the kind of project we need to ensure our competitiveness and bring innovations from Bavaria to the world,” affirmed Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger at the opening ceremony.
The WACKER Biotechnology Center is integrated into the Group’s research site in the Munich quarter of Sendling where the company has been conducting fundamental research for over a century and, since the 1980s, also in biotechnology. With the expansion of the biotechnology business, it was evident that WACKER's research capacities had reached their limits. With space for around 90 employees and state-of-the-art equipment, the WACKER Biotechnology Center opens new doors.
Spread over four floors, the new building dedicates around 1,500 square meters for a laboratory and technical competence center and boasts around 700 square meters of office space. It is home to WACKER’s research operations, including methods to manufacture biopharmaceuticals, the medicines of tomorrow. The focus will be on processes for the production of proteins and nucleic acids, which play an important role in developing innovative therapies involving, for example, active ingredients based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). In addition, WACKER is committed to developing innovative ingredients for food and dietary supplements that contribute to healthy and sustainable nutrition for the generations of today and the future.
Consolidating biotechnological R&D under one roof will go a long way in improving the efficiency of WACKER’s research activities. Apart from optimizing efficiency, WACKER is also keen on reducing the time from lab-based research and product development to actual implementation. “It is no longer enough to simply have the best solution. It’s becoming increasingly important that we reach the customer with this solution first. Speed is taking on an ever greater role in making us stand out,” emphasizes Christian Hartel.
It is therefore clear: WACKER’s Biotechnology Center is not just about research. The brand new facility will open up opportunities to work even more closely with customers, business partners, Biosolutions and other business divisions with the aim of shortening the time of a product from lab to market.
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