Lonza to Expand Capabilities at Manufacturing Sites in Switzerland

Lonza announced on Sept. 22, 2021, that they will invest in additional drug manufacturing capabilities at their Stein site in Switzerland. The investment will fund an additional aseptic flexible filling line for clinical supply of drug product.

The new line will support liquid and lyophilized vial filling and processing as well as cartridges and pre-filled syringes. This line will allow Lonza to process various modalities, including monoclonal antibodies, bioconjugates, viral vectors, and various other gene therapy products. According to a company press release, the filling line will implement state-of-the-art robotic technology and implement innovative freeze-drying technology with an air-cooling system. Expected to be completed in 2023, the installation will create more than 70 new positions at the Stein site.

In tandem with the global drug product capacity increase, Lonza will extend its drug product services footprint for parenteral dosage forms at its Basel site. This will increase process development and characterization capabilities offered at the site, supporting both early and late-stage clinical stage pharmaceutical development. It’s expected to be operational in 2024.

"The drug product capability expansions in Switzerland provide our customers with access to a flexible, integrated offering comprising the development, testing and manufacturing services for mammalian, microbial, bioconjugate products, cell and gene therapies, and small molecules,” said Jean-Christophe Hyvert, president of biologics and cell and gene, Lonza, in a press release. “Enhancing our global drug product capacity underlines Lonza's continuing commitment to providing our customers with an end-to-end solution across various modalities and scales."

"Our drug product services offering in Basel is a world-class capability and represents a center of excellence for Lonza's global drug product network,” said Peter Droc, head of drug product services at Lonza, in a press release. “Alongside the investment in the filling line in Stein, expanding the footprint and capabilities of our drug product services allows us to answer customer demand for integrated solutions."

Source: Lonza