Roche opens new CHF1.2-billion R&D centre in Basel

The pharmaceutical company Roche has opened a new research and development centre in Basel in northwest Switzerland. The firm has invested CHF1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) in the buildings designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. On Tuesday Roche announced the inauguration of its new “Pharma Research and Early Development Centre” at its global headquarters in Basel. The R&D centre comprises four research buildings at a cost of CHF1.2 billion - the group's largest single investment in recent years. The facility will house 1,800 researchers. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Next to the two existing office towers in the centre of Basel – one is the tallest building in Switzerland at 205 metres - the four new buildings are hardly noticeable, despite being 114 metres high. + Roche gives details of CHF1.2bn Basel site investment These new high-rise buildings are each divided into three-story units, which, according to Roche, creates smaller "research biotopes" ...