Minnesota-based conglomerate 3M plans to spend $146 million on improving its filtration technology to support biopharmaceutical drug production, according to a May 31 press release.

The investment will include facility and equipment upgrades, as well as 60 new positions at the company’s plants in Europe. The upgrades will accelerate 3M’s development and delivery of critical filtration equipment for use in bioprocessing, biological and small molecule pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The filtration equipment, 3M said, will enable biotech customers to continue creating therapies for conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and specific cancers.

“We are helping biotech customers do more, faster, to advance their specialized medicines,” Robert Befidi, president of 3M Separation and Purification Sciences Division, said in a statement. “Our investment further demonstrates 3M’s continued market leadership and ongoing commitment to customer-center innovation in healthcare.”

3M has been investing in its biopharma solutions to meet rising demand, with CFO Monish Patolawala establishing filtration as a key area of focus in a Q1 earnings call last year. A month prior, the company allocated $35 million to double capacity at a facility making filtration products in Columbia, Missouri.