Bayer says it is going to invest more than 500 million euros at two of its manufacturing sites in Germany to prepare for the production of two investigational haemophilia A treatments.

The cash will be spent at its Wuppertal and Leverkusen facilities to establish additional capacity for the recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) products -  a plasma protein-free rFVIII (BAY 81-8973) and a long-acting rFVIII (BAY 94-9027). Both are currently in Phase III trials and last month Bayer presented data showing that the latter demonstrated protection from bleeds comparable to standard therapy (which requires that patients infuse themselves two to three times a week) with infusion intervals of up to seven days.

As for BAY 81-8973, it is an upgrade of Bayer's currently-marketed rFVIII blockbuster Kogenate, which is manufactured exclusively in Berkeley, California. It will be filed with regulatory authorities in the second half of 2014 and the company noted that "establishing an additional supply source in Germany will help…prepare for production of the anticipated new therapy options and address the growing demand in this therapeutic area".

The investment "will be one of the largest in the history of Bayer HealthCare and reflects our strong commitment in the field of haemophilia A," said Olivier Brandicourt, chief executive of the division. It will also create 500 new jobs at Leverkusen and Wuppertal by 2020.