German biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is celebrating its 70th anniversary in Spain this year. And they are doing so by making record investments in this country. Specifically, the company invested 42.6 million euros in research, development and innovation (R&D&I) this year, 23% more than in the previous period.

Investment in R&D&I thus accounted for 9.6% of net sales in the company's prescription pharmaceuticals segment. 53% of this has been specifically earmarked for research, totalling 22.5 million euros.

International production
In terms of innovation, Boehringer Ingelheim has chosen its Spanish facilities for the international production of Jardiance, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. This decision involves an investment of 17 million euros in a new production line, with the aim of producing 1 billion tablets a year from 2024, mainly destined for sale in Europe and the United States.

This is in addition to the 18 million euros invested this year in the Respimat aseptic cartridge manufacturing and packaging plant, where a new solids production line has been added. This plant and the injectable and oral medicine manufacturing plant have benefited from a total investment of 170 million euros over the last five years.

Digitalisation and technology
The icing on the 70th anniversary cake is the announcement by the biopharmaceutical company that they will be investing over 60 million euros in their two Spanish digitalisation and technology hubs before the end of the year, a figure that is to be doubled in the coming years. The workforce at these two centres, which offer digital marketing and IT services worldwide, will also be expanded with the addition of 60 new employees.

The company says that the presence of both hubs in Spain brings many benefits, ranging from the generation of job opportunities and economic growth to the development of the region, the universities and the community in general. It also enhances the areas of talent attraction, investment and innovation development.

In terms of employee welfare, the company is investing one and a half million euros a year in training in Spain and. 40% of vacancies are in addition filled by its own staff. With regard to gender, generational and cultural diversity, 62.5% of management positions are held by women, and the company has employees from over 30 different nationalities on the workforce.

^{Photo: Boehringer Ingelheim}