Daiichi Sankyo has recently made an announcement of its plans to invest almost 300 billion yen, which is equivalent to $1.9 billion, when it comes to expanding its manufacturing prowess for Enhertu – the antibody-drug conjugate – ADC throughout numerous nations. The move comes as the company looks forward to solidifying its position within the ADC market and also decreasing the potential geopolitical risks.
Apparently, the Japanese pharmaceutical giant is all set to establish novel production facilities and also expand the present ones in four major regions:
- Japan – A 77 billion yen, or $491.7 million, investment within the Hiratsuka plant located in the Kanagawa Prefecture.
- Germany – A 140 billion yen, or $894 million, allocated when it comes to production sites located in Munich, to be completed by 2028.
- China – 24 billion yen, or $153 million, for a new facility based out of Shanghai, which is scheduled for completion by 2030.
- United States – 56 billion yen, which is equivalent to $357.8 million in terms of additional facilities at the present plant located in New Albany, Ohio, with the expansion all set to be over by October 2027.
All these strategic investments are designed in order to enhance the global manufacturing network of Daiichi Sankyo and make sure of a balanced supply of Enhertu, which has interestingly shown quite a promise when it comes to treating numerous forms of cancer, especially the HER2-positive breast cancer.
The expansion plans of Daiichi Sankyo go on to reflect the confidence by the company in the market potential of Enhertu. The drug, which has been developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca, went on to generate $3.75 billion when it came to combined sales in 2024. Industry analysts have gone on to predict that Daiichi Sankyo is sure going to maintain its dominance when it comes to the antibody-drug conjugate spectrum all through 2029, majorly because of the breakthrough impact of Enhertu when it comes to treating HER2-low breast cancer.
It is worth noting that the recent FDA approval when it comes to Enhertu is regarded as the first-line treatment in terms of unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer when mixed with Perjeta from Roche, which, by the way, further strengthens its market position. This latest indication goes on to add to the growing list of approved uses of the drug since its first approval in 2019.
Hiroyuki Okuzawa, the CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, underlined that while some of such investments were planned much before the emergence of the potential pharmaceutical tariffs, the company is going ahead and taking a proactive approach in order to address the possible geopolitical risks. The diversification of manufacturing locations throughout multiple continents enables Daiichi Sankyo to go ahead and maintain flexibility in terms of production and also lessen the supply chain disruptions, if any.
The commitment by the company to expand its antibody-drug conjugate capabilities goes on to sync with its long-term strategy so as to strengthen its foothold when it comes to this fast-growing portfolio of the pharmaceutical industry. As Daiichi Sankyo consistently advances to invest within its global manufacturing network, it is also positioning itself to meet the growing demand for Enhertu and also the potential future when it comes to ADC therapies.
