Debiopharm lays the foundation stone for its new building
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The new building will have a surface area of 3,500m2 dedicated to the creation of 150 to 300 flexible workstations. It will enable the company to expand and develop. The work will be completed in 2026.
The building will also house a reservoir containing a total of 4.5 million litres of water, which will be used to run a heat pump heating system and an ice store cooling system, largely covering the annual heating/cooling needs of the entire Debiopharm site (~12,000 m2).
Powered by photovoltaic panels, this system will recover the heat released during the crystallisation of the water in order to heat the site, and conversely, it will use the cold reserve accumulated during the winter to cool it. This system will drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and bring us closer to meeting the Swiss government’s 2050 targets. In addition, surplus heat production could be supplied to certain buildings in the surrounding neighbourhood.
The network of solar panels will also supply new charging points for electric cars. The site’s underground car park will be accessible to local residents and Lausanne taxis in the evenings and at weekends, enabling them to recharge their electric vehicles. The amount of the investment has not been disclosed.
“Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said that ‘the future is not to be foreseen, but to be built’, and he wanted us to remember that ‘it is the spirit that leads the world, not the intelligence’. It was with these principles in mind that we decided to build the new Espace building. The building is designed to be environmentally friendly and innovative, and will feature an interior layout suited to new working habits.” – Thierry Mauvernay, Chairman, Managing Director Debiopharm
“For almost 50 years, we’ve been offering therapies to treat cancer, but our ambition is to cure. This construction reflects the pharma of tomorrow as we see it: responsible, efficient and innovative.” – Bertrand Ducrey, CEO Debiopharm
Debiopharm is a biopharmaceutical group active in the development and manufacture of treatments, particularly for cancer and infectious diseases. Founded in 1979, it now has 2 sites in Lausanne and 1 in Martigny, and employs about 350 people.
➡️ Source: Press Release
📸 © Yves Colas | Debiopharm