On February 12, 2026, the pharmaceutical company Roche officially inaugurated one of the world’s most modern development centers for in vitro diagnostics in Penzberg. The company has invested around 300 million euros in the new building, which is around 23,000 square metres in size, since construction began in February 2022. The high-tech construction is part of Roche’s investment agenda in Germany, which has invested more than 3.5 billion euros since 2020, around half of which has been invested at the Penzberg site.

In the future, a good 1,000 of the site’s approximately 7,700 employees will work there on the research and development of innovative diagnostics, especially for neurology (such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis), cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases and personalized medicine. Intelligent networking, fully automated processes and state-of-the-art robotics are expected to reduce the development time of central steps in test development by around 30 percent.

The building sets standards in digitalization and sustainability. It has around 630 kilometers of data cables, more than 4,400 intelligent sensors and a fully automated “cube” as a central sample storage facility for 2.5 million biological samples at minus 80 degrees Celsius. Samples can be retrieved at the touch of a button, and numerous steps of reagent development are digitized, automated and parallelized.

The energy requirement is about 70 percent lower than in previous generations of laboratories. Operation is CO2-free thanks to timber hybrid construction, intelligent energy management, use of waste heat, a photovoltaic system with 130 kilowatt peak and other measures. The building is one of the largest timber hybrid projects in Bavaria.

The inauguration was attended by Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder, Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär and Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker, among others.

Thomas Schinecker emphasized that the investment is a clear commitment to Germany as a business location. Faster transfer of research ideas into market-ready products strengthens Europe’s competitiveness and resilient health care. Roche expects the German government to provide reliable framework conditions to make Germany a leading pharmaceutical and biotech location.

Alexander Dobrindt emphasized that the center stands for research, progress and responsibility from Germany for patients worldwide. Diagnostic innovation needs reliable specifications and coordinated framework conditions.

Dorothee Bär referred to the high-tech agenda of the federal government and the key technology of biotechnology. The center combines excellent research with value creation, strengthens technological sovereignty and sets the course for Germany as a location for innovation and health.

The building is scheduled to be fully operational in June 2026. Roche underlines that around 70 percent of all medical decisions are based on diagnostic results, while only about 3 percent of healthcare expenditure is spent on this area. Early and precise diagnostics are a decisive lever for better chances of recovery and cost reduction in the healthcare system.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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