Lonza Adds Bottling, Labeling Capabilities to Clinical Manufacturing Services at US Site

The Bend, Ore., small molecules facility operated by Lonza is now offering clinical bottling and labeling capabilities, enhancing its support of customers focused on early stages of development, a press release from Lonza said on Aug. 6, 2024 (1).

Lonza said the addition of these services, along with the new equipment they require, builds upon the company’s investment in a dedicated early phase clinical manufacturing facility which was completed at the Bend site in 2022.

At that time, Paul Granberry, executive director and site head at Bend for Lonza Small Molecules, said the investment was a direct response to the evident needs of customers (2).

“We continue to observe strong demand from customers for providing early phase development support under accelerated timelines,” Granberry said in the press release. “With this dedicated facility, we further enhance our capabilities in this specific segment with improved speed of delivery.”

According to Lonza, the new equipment is not only able to clean, fill, cap, and seal as well as label, but also is capable of detecting defects in tablets and capsules (1). Ultimately, the company said, these enhanced service offerings will accelerate deliveries of various products to clinical trial centers, providing a more immediate benefit to the customer.

“Lonza’s drug product formulation and development services, offered from our site in Bend, support clinical and commercial development and manufacturing,” Matthew Ferguson, senior director of product development for Lonza Small Molecules, said in the release. “The new bottling equipment for filling tablets and powder-filled capsules further enhances our ability to support customers looking to accelerate their candidate pathway through Phase I and II clinical trials and beyond.”

The bottling and labeling capabilities will be just one of the more than 80 programs supported at the Bend site, which has operated as the company’s self-described “center of excellence” for bioavailability enhancement and inhaled delivery, in the areas of pharmacokinetic modulating and solubility problem-solving, for more than 45 years (1). Lonza’s website states its clinical trial services provide access to, and packaging and distribution of, a full range of solid oral dosage forms under current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) conditions (3).

Among the other services offered by Lonza in Bend are seven GMP suites and various capability enhancements for the purposes of development and clinical manufacturing of drug products and drug product intermediates.

This announcement follows Lonza’s March 2024 acquisition of a former Roche commercial biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, Calif., at a price of $1.2 billion, and an additional $557 million investment into upgrading the facility and enhancing its capabilities (4).

References

1. Lonza. Lonza Upgrades Clinical Manufacturing Services at Bend (US) Site to Include Bottling and Labeling Capabilities. Press Release, Aug. 6, 2024.
2. Lonza. Lonza Completes Dedicated Early Clinical Phase Development and Manufacturing Facility in Bend (OR). Press Release, June 1, 2022.
3. Lonza. Clinical Packaging, Labelling, and Supply Services. Lonza.com/small-molecules (accessed Aug. 6, 2024).
4. Mirasol, F. Lonza Acquires Roche’s US Commercial Biologics Manufacturing Site for $1.2 Billion. BioPharmInternational.com, March 25, 2024.