Lonza has expanded mammalian production capacity at its Slough, UK facility. Based on the increased demand for biopharmaceutical development and clinical manufacturing services, two 1000L single-use bioreactors will be installed at the site. According to the company, this expansion will significantly increase the existing single-use manufacturing capacity in Slough while allowing current operations to continue without interruption.

Lonza’s cGMP facility in Slough is its center of excellence for development and clinical supply. The site provides cell line construction, process development and clinical manufacturing services for mammalian-derived biotherapeutics.

The increase in bioreactor capacity continues the implementation of single-use technologies at the Slough site and complements existing single-use equipment for both seed train systems and downstream processing, including chromatography, filtration and ultrafiltration unit operations. The new reactors are equipped with controllers that enable parallel reactor operations, expanded process capabilities with flexible operating scales and bioreactor types. Use of these technologies supports Lonza’s ability to accommodate a variety of customer projects and processes across scales and clinical phases.

“The ease of installation, commissioning and validation of single-use bioreactors allows us to meet the increased market demand for clinical manufacturing,” said Michael Brown, head of operations for clinical development, Lonza Pharma&Biotech.