Lonza to create 1,200 new jobs at vaccine-production site
The Swiss pharmaceutical company is recruiting workers to join its new plant in southern Switzerland, where three production lines have been set up to manufacture an active ingredient of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/gw
So far the firm has hired 650 new staff to work at its Visp site in canton Valais, said site director Renzo Cicillini in a media interview published on Saturday.
Cicillini added that Lonza was recruiting from the Swiss labour market as well as from countries such as Germany, France, northern Italy and Britain.
The multinational signed a ten-year contract with American firm Moderna in 2020 to supply ingredients for up to one billion doses of its Covid vaccine a year for the global market, excluding the United States. Only in January, Lonza had projected the need for 200 workers in Visp to meet a yearly target of 300 million doses.
Asked whether the Swiss government would support a vaccine production line in Visp, Cicillini said the company’s CEO, Albert Baehny, was in contact with the health minister, Alain Berset, and that the media would be informed of any new development.
Recent media reports claimed that Berset turned down an opportunity last year to secure a vaccine production line exclusively for Switzerland by investing in Lonza, reports that Berset has rejected.
Popular Stories
More
Banking & Fintech
Luxury heir claims his CHF11 billion Hermès fortune has vanished
Swiss government upbeat about ‘multimodal’ transport hubs
This content was published on
Authorities are positive about a programme to boost hubs linking different transport methods, as well as urban and rural areas.
Sudan to open border with Chad to allow in humanitarian aid
This content was published on
As peace talks continue in Geneva, Sudan has said it will open the Adre crossing on its border with Chad to allow in humanitarian aid for a period of three months.
This content was published on
On Thursday, Novartis reiterated its claim that the new US drug pricing scheme was “unconstitutional” and would lower access to medicines.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland mulls future European coordination on medical supplies
This content was published on
“The pandemic has shown us that we are very dependent, maybe too much so, on other markets,” Swiss President Guy Parmelin has said.
Switzerland in race for sufficient Covid immunisation
This content was published on
Health authorities have called for an extra effort from the Swiss population to keep Covid infections as low as possible in the next few months.
New Lonza site can now make Covid-19 vaccine ingredient
This content was published on
Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, has approved Lonza’s new site for making Moderna’s Covid-19 active substance.
This content was published on
The Swiss health authorities say they plan to roll out a certificate for people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus by summer.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.