Lonza, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) partner to the biopharma industry, has unveiled an investment in a major expansion of highly potent API (HPAPI) capacity at its Visp, Switzerland site to meet increased market demand.
 
The investment will add two 4m³-scale, multi-purpose production lines for HPAPI manufacturing complementing Lonza’s existing range of production capacities from lab to large commercial scale. A subsequent capacity optimization will also improve Lonza’s flexibility in existing production lines, supporting shorter time-to-market and accelerated approval timelines for partners.
 
Lonza has entered into a long-term manufacturing agreement with AstraZeneca, and the new facility will support the delivery of a number of products from across their portfolio. The remaining capacity will allow Lonza to expand the offer to other clients.
 
“We are delighted to support one of our strategic partners in securing supply of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer patients,” said Lee Newton, vice president and API business unit head, Lonza Pharma & Biotech. “Oncology continues as the leading indication in biopharma and we will continue to invest to meet the HPAPI development and manufacturing needs of our customers.”
  
Gordon Bates, president chemical division, Lonza Pharma & Biotech, said, “We listen to our customers and understand that needs vary more than ever in the biopharma space. We have invested accordingly in both technology and scale to ensure that we enable our customers to bring new medicines to patients faster. Our creative suite of tailored business models are also key in partnering for success.”
 
The HPAPI capacity expansion is expected to be on-line by July 2020.