American biopharmaceutical company, Amgen, has announced an investment of €100 million in Lisbon, Portugal. The multinational selected Lisbon as its EU hub.
Amgen, that is a global leader in biotechnology, focuses on molecular biology and biochemistry based on DNA technology for producing innovative drugs. The Amgen Capability Center in Portugal intends to hire an additional 300 people worldwide within the next three years.
In 2021, the revenue of Amgen was estimated at around U$ 26 billion. It is a public company based in the US that is traded on Nasdaq AMGN and NASDAQ-100.
Amgen, that has expanded its operations to over 100 countries and has a workforce of 20,000 people, focuses on the development of therapeutics in fields such as oncology, hematology, cardiovascular diseases and neuroscience.
The choice of Portugal as a hub for the EU was based on the availability of qualified staff, on the country’s attractiveness as a destination to live and work and on lower operating costs. Portugal, that is recognized for its competitiveness and ease of doing business, is attracting global companies in the health and biotechnology sector.
According to the Portuguese Association for Bioindustry (P-BIO), around 10% of all international patents in the field of biotechnology are filed by Portuguese scientists, which is nearly twice the EU and OECD average. Portugal registered 446 patents within the last decade. The Portugal Biotech study that was launched by the P-BIO association revealed that the turnover of R&D companies in the study increased by 33%. The sector is in the growth phase, with exports accounting for 60% of the turnover of over half of the companies involved in the study.
There is a growing number of investments in the field in Portugal, such as Carbocode that is investing Euros 80 million in its plant for R&D and for the production of sphingolipids that are essential for the nervous and gastrointestinal systems. The biotech industry in Portugal is booming with successful companies such as Lymphact that develops cancer therapy and Swedish giant Recipharm that bought a Portuguese CDMO company. Other successful Portuguese companies include Bial that is the largest pharmaceutical company and is based in Porto as well as Immunethep and Biotrend that are both based in Coimbra.
Biotechnology involves science and technology for developing innovative products. It is a sector that requires highly qualified teams and nearly 60% of employees are women that are under 35 years old.
The Technological Park of Cantanhede is an example of how universities are working towards producing economic growth in the fields of science and technology. With the help of the universities of Coimbra and Aveiro, the municipality created a platform that is directly linked to industrial growth sectors. The Park, which includes research companies that account for 40% of the sector of biotechnology in Portugal, showcases how government policies are shaping Portugal’s economic future.
Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/biopharmaceutical-portugal