BayerHealthcare plans to invest more than €500 million at its sites in Wuppertal and Leverkusen, Germany, to expand capacity for production of its recombinant factor VIII haemophilia drug.

Investigational therapy options for haemophilia, including a plama protein-free upgrade of the Factor VIII drug Kogenate and a long-acting recombinant FVIII are currently in Phase III chemical trials. In February, Bayer announced positive results from the PROTECT VIII trials evaluating its site-specific PEGylated recombinant FVIII drug.

The investment is one of the largest in the history of Bayer HealthCare said the sub-group's CEO Oliver Brandicourt. It will create around 500 new jobs at the two sites up to 2020.

Establishing a base in Germany for Kogenate, currently manufactured exclusively in Berkeley, California, in the U.S., will help the company prepare for production of the expected new therapy options and address the growing demand in this therapeutic area, Brandicourt said.