Novartis announced today that the further development of the Rheintal Life Science Park in Stein AG will be handed over to GETEC, a specialist in professional industrial parks and energy solutions, in order to maximize and professionally further develop the park’s economic potential. It was agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.
As the largest tenant, Novartis will continue to manufacture medicines and therapies on the site of the Rheintal Life Science Park. As part of the transaction, Novartis plans to transfer real estate and infrastructure-related assets and services to GETEC by the end of Q4 2023. GETEC has proven expertise in the management of industrial parks, know-how in the industrial energy transition and strong financial power. GETEC has been successfully operating the infrastructure in Schweizerhalle (GETEC PARK. SWISS) for Novartis and other companies since 2019. In connection with the transaction, 25 Novartis employees in the area of services and infrastructure are expected to be transferred to the buyer.
“After a detailed analysis, Novartis has come to the conclusion that transferring the management of the Life Science Park Rheintal to a professional industrial park operator can better maximize and further develop the economic potential of the site and facilitate the settlement of new companies,” said Steffen Lang, President Operations and member of the Novartis executive board. “In return, this transaction enables us to focus even better on our core business: the manufacture of innovative pharmaceutical products across a wide range of technologies including biotechnology and cell and gene therapy.”
The location offers an ideal innovative environment, access to highly qualified employees from the region and large expansion reserves. GETEC plans to develop the Rheintal Life Science Park sustainably in the long term and to invest in the site in order to attract new tenants. The attractive life science park can thus be further developed and benefit from the excellent competitive conditions in Aargau. The aim is to create even more attractive location conditions through the takeover by a professional industrial park operator and to promote the growth of the companies and the region in the long term.
Stein AG will continue to be a site of strategic importance for Novartis for the manufacture and market launch of innovative medicines. In Stein, Novartis operates a production plant for solid dosage forms, drugs for injection, for cell and gene therapies, and a grinding and mixing center for chemical production.
Around a third of the area of the Rheintal Life Science Park is currently unused. Novartis therefore founded the Life Science Park Rheintal in Stein at the beginning of 2021 in order to attract further life science companies to the location and to use the excellent talent base and first-class infrastructure in Aargau.
For the companies located there, the park offers comprehensive services in the areas of building management, energy supply, engineering, maintenance, logistics as well as environmentally friendly wastewater treatment and waste disposal. Quality, competitive costs and sustainability play an important role here. Thus, the settled companies can concentrate on their core business and work in an environment that promotes the focus on innovation and production.
The cantonal location promotion welcomes the transfer of the area by Novartis to the specialized industrial park operator GETEC, as the head of location promotion, Verena Rohrer, explains. “The Novartis Life Science Park in Stein belongs geographically to the greater Sisslerfeld area, which the canton has defined as a strategic focus of development. The Sisslerfeld has great potential for high-value-added companies and thus for significantly more jobs. The transfer to GETEC enables us to jointly settle further, innovative companies in the greater Sisslerfeld area, which can cooperate with each other.”
Almost 2,000 employees from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies work in the areas of research, development and production in the Rheintal Life Science Park. In addition to Novartis, the chemical and pharmaceutical group Lonza has been represented in Stein since 2019 and signed an additional agreement with Novartis in June 2022 to expand production capacities. The international biotechnology company Celonic has been based there since early 2021.
Source: Novartis, Aug 22, 2023