Lonza, a global provider of chemical and biological manufacturing, has opened its new pharmaceutical drug product services laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. The new 1300 m² facility will focus initially on formulation development, drug product analytical development and quality control. Hanns-Christian Mahler will lead the new drug product service lab teams.

Approximately 75 guests and Lonza participants attended the ribbon-cutting event, which featured a tour of the facility, hands-on experimental stations, and a virtual reality journey into the world of Drug Product development, manufacture and administration.

Christoph Brutschin, State Councillor, Head of the Department of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, said. “The new state-of-the-art facility can support not just global, established pharma customers, but also small startups like the ones that make their home in Basel.”

Richard Ridinger, chief executive officer of Lonza, said: “We chose Basel for Lonza’s first-ever drug product development facility because it offers us access to the latest technologies and world-leading experts in a central location, one that’s a hub of innovation in the pharma industry. The addition of drug product development services to Lonza’s global offerings is the next part of our journey along the healthcare continuum, a step that moves us closer to our customers and their patients.”

In addition to providing services like particle testing or container closure integrity testing, the Lonza hub offers services to detect trace impurities in pharmaceutical products, e.g. extractables and leachables from plastics used in manufacturing.