Loba biotech

High-tech biopharmaceutical centre of excellence

In order to meet the global demand for essential medicines with the active ingredient interferon, the Austrian biotechnology company Loba built one of the world’s most modern high-tech biopharmaceutical centres near Vienna. Only 42 months after first breaking ground, Loba was able to bring its first biopharmaceutical product to market. This record-breaking implementation is also thanks to their successful cooperation with the VTU Group, which provided Loba with significant support in this project as a technical consultant and, as the ‘owner’s engineer’, oversaw and verified the timely and correct construction of the production facilities. 

Active ingredient: interferon 

Loba and its parent company pharma& took on the challenge of transferring the production of the active ingredient interferon, which had been produced by a well-known pharmaceutical company for many years, to Fischamend near Vienna. The aim was to launch the drug PegIFN alfa 2a, which is based on interferon – or more precisely on the slightly modified peginterferon alfa-2a – on the market in 2025. 

Interferon-based therapies are a major advancement in the treatment of hepatitis B and have achieved significant progress in research, especially in the areas of bone and blood cancers. These treatments are an example of how biopharmaceutical innovations help improve patient care and prolong life.

Modern high-tech biopharmaceutical centre

The project involved the construction of production facilities and office buildings, quality testing laboratories including state-of-the-art equipment for compliance with regulatory standards, a new power station, solvent storage facilities, multi-functional spaces – and of course the centrepiece, the manufacturing plant for the production of the active ingredient. One particularly remarkable thing about the project is thatnot only was it possible to replicate the technological functionality of the plant of the previous active ingredient producer, but also the strict regulatory framework – as is customary in the biopharmaceutical industry – was seamlessly implemented in order to provide patients with the highest quality and safety standards.

“If we don’t produce this product here in Fischamend – and in a timely manner – we can’t help people treat their illness. We have a responsibility, not only to our investors and employees, but above all to the patients who depend on our drug PegIFN alfa 2a.”

 Walter Erber, Senior Vice President, Loba 

“Without VTU, this project would have been nothing more than fantasy. Conventional ways of thinking were changed and approaches rethought. The close cooperation between us and VTU led to an agile and extremely efficient project implementation. As a newcomer to the biotech industry, it was important for us to have a competent partner like VTU at our side, who can also act responsibly in the spirit of Loba. If you don’t have to discuss every single decision in detail because you trust your partner, you save a lot of time as well.” 

Gernot Fruhmann, Leading Process Engineer, Loba