As Sandoz prepares to spin off from Novartis into its own generics and biosimilars business, the company has settled on a location for its new headquarters.
The company's new digs will be close to home in Basel, Switzerland, which is already where Novartis is based. Specifically, Sandoz will be operating from the center of the city, right near the Basel SBB train station, the company said in a statement.
Sandoz expects to move into the office building, called Elsässertor, in the middle of 2024. Its new workspace will be designed to allow for “closer collaboration” across the organization, according to the company.
“I’m delighted to confirm that we will continue to call Basel home,” Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor said in a statement. “Our planned location in the heart of the city will allow us to create a working environment that meets our business needs and reflects our identity, culture and values.”
Sandoz has been busy getting ready for the spinoff, which is currently set to complete in the second half of this year.
Last month, parent company Novartis named eight members of the generics unit’s new board of directors. They include former Eli Lilly Chief Information and Digital Officer Aarti Shah, Ph.D., and Nestlé Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger. So far, the board includes four women.
As Sandoz prepares to go out on its own, it's also been beefing up its product portfolio. Last month, the company purchased exclusive rights to sell six small-molecule generics in the U.S. from Adalvo. The exact drugs haven’t been revealed but could address markets worth about $3 billion.
Sandoz also recently struck a deal with Evotec to develop and produce biosimilar candidates over a multiyear stretch.
Novartis announced its plan to spin off the company last summer. The split will create Europe’s largest generics company and one with a leading biosimilar presence worldwide.