FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2021

Contact:
Victoria Morgan
Head of External Communications
victoria.morgan@lonza.com

Lonza to Expand Microbial Development Laboratories

  • Lonza to expand development laboratories at the Visp (CH) site by 50% as part of Lonza’s continued focus on expanding the microbial service offering supporting clinical and commercial programs
  • The expansion will consolidate upstream and downstream development teams with process analytics to promote efficiencies for project execution
  • Expanded development services will be available in Q4 2021

Basel, Switzerland – Lonza, a global manufacturing partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition industries, today announced it has invested in additional microbial development capabilities in Switzerland. The investment will support increased capacity of development services targeting microbial-derived proteins with expanded laboratory space and equipment to be in use by the end of 2021.

The current extension will support new projects in Lonza’s existing manufacturing assets as well as the previously announced mid-scale microbial capacity expansion.  As microbial expression systems demand complex manufacturing processes, expanded development services will strengthen upstream, downstream and process analytics support for these new projects.  

Shiva Khalafpour, Vice President, Head of Microbial Business Unit, Lonza, commented: “The microbial-derived pipeline is growing at a healthy rate driven by an increase in alternatives to antibodies such as nanobodies, designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins), single-chain antibodies, etc. For some of these molecules, microbial systems show better and more efficient productivities, which is increasing the trend toward outsourcing as customers need to rely on key microbial expertise. Expanding our development laboratories will enable us to support new customers with the development and manufacture of these molecules and other recombinant proteins for both clinical and commercial projects.”

New development capacity will consolidate the microbial footprint at the Visp site and add new high throughput equipment and automation processes to drive efficiency and project delivery. The automation upgrades include three liquid handling workstations and other enabling equipment dedicated to upstream and downstream process development as well analytical method development.  This high throughput capability will accelerate and enhance customer process data generation.

The expansion includes the installation of a dedicated pilot suite with a 50L fermenter and corresponding downstream equipment, which will generate non-GMP product suitable for formulation and toxicology studies. In addition, the pilot facility will enhance our internal technology transfer strategy and capability by providing a representative primary recovery scale.

The additional laboratory capacity will be aligned with available manufacturing capacity, including support of the new mid-scale assets, which will come online in 2022.

To learn more about Lonza’s microbial fermentation capabilities, visit: pharma.lonza.com/offerings/microbial

About Lonza
Lonza is the preferred global partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition markets. We work to enable a healthier world by supporting our customers to deliver new and innovative medicines that help treat a wide range of diseases. We achieve this by combining technological insight with world-class manufacturing, scientific expertise and process excellence. Our unparalleled breadth of offerings enables our customers to commercialize their discoveries and innovations in the healthcare sector.

Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, today, Lonza operates across five continents. With approximately 15,000 employees, we comprise high-performing teams and individual talent that make a meaningful difference to our own business, as well as to the communities in which we operate. The company generated sales of CHF 2.5 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 847 million in H1 2021. Find out more at www.lonza.com.

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