Exactly 50 years ago, on June 29, 1972, the Roche pharmaceutical group laid the cornerstone for its plant in Penzberg, thus initiating a structural change from coal mining to biotechnology with a complete value chain at one location. This anniversary Roche celebrates extensively.
When Boehringer Mannheim reached its spatial capacities at its Tutzing site, the pharmaceutical company found a suitable location in Penzberg's Nonnenwald forest on the site of a former coal mine - a blessing for Penzberg after its mining era. From a good 120 employees in 1974 to over 2,500 when Roche took over in 1997, Roche now has 7,200 employees and has thus become the largest employer in the area. Roche also combines the entire value chain at the Penzberg site, from research and development to production.
Personalized medicine - digitization - health data
In Penzberg, Roche is working on new active compounds for the treatment of cancer and other indications; ingredients for diagnostic tests and these tests themselves are also developed and produced here.
Roche is committed to personalized medicine, treatments that are tailored to the individual patient. Increasingly, the possibilities of digitization and the use of health data are also being used here.
Roche will also continue to grow; recently, for example, construction started on its new diagnostics research building LEAP at Roche's biotechnology center in Penzberg. In addition, the location of the new Fraunhofer Institute for Immunology, Infection and Pandemic Research at Roche in Penzberg and in Munich brings Penzberg and Großhadern/Martinsried closer together. The laboratories were just ceremoniously opened at the beginning of May. The aim is to identify and characterize potential pandemic pathogens and develop new diagnostics and therapies in collaboration with the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (LMU).
Roche Penzberg celebrated its success and also the 125-year history of the Group with its employees and their families and friends. A total of more than 14,000 people came together in the Nonnenwald for this occasion. Last weekend also the Penzberg town festival took place - an event jointly organized by Roche and the town.
On July 14, September 22 and October 27, Roche invites visitors to visitor days.
More about the history of Roche also in the special supplement 50 Years Roche in Penzberg.