Roche commits 790 million francs to new Basel factory
Tuesday 22nd September 2026 on 17:30 in
Switzerland
Roche is investing 790 million Swiss francs in a new production facility at its headquarters in Basel, in contrast to rival Novartis, which plans to close its last production plant in the city. Swiss broadcaster SRF reported that the foundation stone for Roche’s Synthetic Molecules Facility was laid on Monday.
The new facility will replace existing plants and is expected to secure around 200 jobs over the long term. It will produce synthetic active ingredients used as the basis for medicines.
Roche Basel site manager Jürg Erismann said the company was choosing Basel despite Switzerland’s high costs because of the quality and productivity available there, as well as the expertise needed for a complex facility.
Chief executive Thomas Schinecker said the proximity of research, development and production at Roche’s Basel headquarters was a strategic advantage. The decision was not based on nostalgia, he said, but on the combination of capabilities available there.
Schinecker said the new building would differ from traditional chemical production. It would use highly automated, enclosed processes and would no longer produce emissions, according to Roche.
The investment contrasts with Novartis’ plans to close its last production facility in Basel’s Klybeck area by the end of 2027. About 130 jobs will be lost. Novartis will continue to use Basel as a research and development location, but its commercial production will leave the city.
Novartis said the facility was being closed because a residential neighbourhood was planned for the Klybeck area, which it had sold. The company said its commercial production in Switzerland would continue at its locations in Schweizerhalle and Stein.
The trade union Unia has criticised the closure and said production could continue at an alternative location on a campus opposite the Klybeck area.
Basel’s economic affairs director, Kaspar Sutter, described Roche’s investment as a sign of confidence. The new facility is scheduled to begin operating in 2030, producing active ingredients for medicines sold worldwide through highly automated processes supported by artificial intelligence.