Sanofi to expand capacity for EUR 19.5m in North Hungary

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi is to expand capacity at its Miskolc base, through investment of more than 7 billion forints (EUR 19.5m), with a 1.2 billion government grant, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Thursday.

The company will expand production capacity at the base in northern Hungary by almost 50 percent, Szijjarto said. The new production line will have capacity to make up to 90,000 syringes per hour, he added. 

Sanofi will export 95 percent of the products to 65 countries across the world.

Szijjártó noted that pharmaceutical giants employ some 25,000 people in the country and spend the most in proportion to their weight on research. Medical products manufactured in Hungary are exported to 129 countries, he said, adding that their value comes to 5.5 billion euros.

Protection efforts against the coronavirus pandemic have further increased the sector’s value, he said. Sanofi Hungary CEO Tamás Rónay said the company has invested 24 billion forints at the plant over the past three decades, demonstrating its long-term commitment to Hungary.

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