In Evreux, 350 million euros of investment in low-carbon Ventolin

“Every minute around the world, 40,000 people inhale a dose of Ventolin (to combat asthma attacks) that we produce here in Evreux,” says Thibault Demarest, French President of the pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline. A gesture that has become trivial for 35 million people, but whose carbon footprint is not insignificant and for which GSK announced this Friday an investment of 350 million euros in the development of three new low-carbon Ventolin production lines by 2025.

“Today, each cylinder represents 28 kg of CO2 or one trip in a thermal car from Évreux to Marne-la-Vallée,” explains a team member. The reason is the gas used in the device, which accounts for more than 50% of the group’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Since 2021, the formulation of a new Ventolin, which emits ten times less greenhouse gases, has been studied, with “very good clinical results,” the president of the Evreux plant, Philippe Doucet, swears: “This product will also heal the planet. We are very proud of this. »

Bruno Le Maire hails the ‘virtuous industry model’

“We are proud to welcome one of the largest investments in the pharmaceutical sector in the last 5 years,” welcomed Bruno Le Maire, who came specially to Evreux for the occasion. According to the Minister of Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Sovereignty, this project “shows what industry should be in France: an efficient and carbon-free industry.”

When Bruno Le Maire was UMP MP in the first constituency of Ayr, where GSK is based, he saw strikes and fears of job cuts. “Ten years ago, 300 jobs were under threat; it was not about opening new industries, but about closing them,” the minister recalled.

“A model of virtuous industry,” according to Bruno Le Maire, the low-carbon Ventolin secures “the future of the Evreux plant for several decades.” The news is in line with the government’s industrial policy to attract private finance by supporting the sector with tax incentives for green investments. “I want factories to open, I want construction projects. I want engineers to be trained, I want women engineers with quotas. I want a reduction in taxes on production. This is the direction we must go,” the minister insisted.

To support the 350 million invested by GSK, the government is still negotiating with the pharmaceutical group, but “we are talking about 5-15% state aid,” eludes a technical consultant from Bercy. Support that will not create new jobs in the near future. If the plan is to reallocate current jobs to new divisions, then at GSK we are looking at perhaps a fourth production line in the future.