On Monday, May 31, 2021, we were exclusively allowed to visit F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG at its location in Penzberg as part of a digital site visit.

At the beginning of the site visit at 1.00 pm, Barbara Jopp Heins introduced us to the biotechnology site in Penzberg. In the following instructional video, Sven Sander showed us one of the many downstream processes carried out at the plant in Penzberg. From cucumbers, potatoes, meat, and baker’s yeast, i. e. components that end up on the dining table in one form or another, important pharmaceutical-relevant enzymes such as phosphatases are isolated and prepared for further processing into drugs. After Mr. Sander answered all the questions of the audience live, Nicole Thomsen gave a talk about opportunities for a career at Roche. In addition, Magdalena Eberl and Alexandra Krause were present as young professionals to answer all questions with first-hand information at the digital round table. With this Q&A round, the digital site visit ended at 3.30 pm.

For us as students of ISPE D/A/CH, this site visit is a great success. We gained insights into one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and were able to talk to the experts in person. The opportunity to get to know new entrants and professionals in the pharmaceutical industry in an uncomplicated round is always a highlight.

We would like to thank F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG in Penzberg and all those who were involved for the exciting insights and we hope to stay in touch with you.