Hungarian drugmaker Gedeon Richter on Thursday inaugurated a HUF 25 billion biotechnology plant in Debrecen, in the east of the country. CEO Erik Bogsch, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Debrecen mayor Lajos Kósa participated at the ceremony.

Bogsch said the plant would create 120 jobs. Richter won a HUF 1.38 billion state grant for the plant, which it started building in 2008. Production of cellular protein products, used in antibodies for cancer and chronic inflammation, is expected to start at the plant in 2014.
Bogsch said Richter had spent HUF 214 billion on investments over the past several years. He added that market capitalization of Richter – Hungary's only big independent drugmaker – had grown from just HUF 30 billion in 1994 to HUF 637 billion in 2011.

Richter employs about 5,000 people, including 1,000 at its R&D base. It also has ties with 30 universities and academic research facilities. The company's revenue topped €1 billion for the first time last year. It spends about 10% of revenue on R&D each year.