Lonza to Expand Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) Manufacturing Capacity to Meet Growing Customer Demand
Basel, Switzerland, 8 January 2013 – Lonza today announced plans to invest CHF 14 million to expand Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) manufacturing capacity in Visp, Switzerland. Oncology therapeutics including ADCs represent one of the fastest growing segments of the pharma and biotech industry and the deployment of ADC targeted therapies has intensified in recent years.
Because cGMP manufacturing of ADCs presents unique challenges, facilities must be designed to handle both biological species and highly potent cytotoxic small molecule drugs. Lonza has been a pioneer in the manufacturing of ADCs since its initial investment in 2006 which established manufacturing suites for both small and large scale projects, dedicated Research & Development labs, and Quality Control facilities specifically for ADCs. Since 2010, Lonza has validated large scale manufacturing of platform technologies primarily utilized by ADC drug developers.
The expansion of the ADC facility will double the existing large-scale manufacturing capacity in Visp while allowing current operations to continue without interruption. It is the next step in bringing challenging new technologies to one of Lonza's main sites. The capacity expansion, expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2014, has the potential to bring new job opportunities across all functions in Visp.
"We have witnessed significant growth in the ADC market in the past 24 months and this investment is necessary to continue to support the growing product demands from our customers" said Stefan Stoffel, Head of Lonza's Chemical Manufacturing business unit. "Lonza Visp will continue to offer a fully integrated end-to-end development and manufacturing solution for ADCs, including the cytotoxic small molecules used in these products and all associated analytics. In addition, Lonza can support protein development and manufacturing via our global biologics development and manufacturing sites."
Lonza's continued investment to increase ADC capacity and highly trained personnel allows its customers to capitalize on the unique infrastructure of the Visp site and limit their own investment in the expertise, assets, and infrastructure required to work with these highly potent biological products in a highly regulated environment.
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Lonza Ltd Muenchensteinerstrasse 38
CH-4002 Basel www.lonza.com
About Lonza
Lonza is one of the world's leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Products and services span its customers' needs from research to final product manufacture. It is the global leader in the production and support of chemical and biological active pharmaceutical ingredients. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts, which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. Lonza is also the world leader in microbial control providing innovative, chemistry-based and related solutions to destroy or to selectively inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms. Its activities encompass the areas of water treatment, personal care, health and hygiene, industrial preservation, materials protection, and wood treatment. In addition, Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Furthermore, the company is a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition and agro markets.
Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and secondary listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST"). Lonza is not subject to the SGX-ST's continuing listing requirements. Lonza is subject to the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange, which do not have specific requirements equivalent to the listing rules of the SGX-ST in respect of interested person transactions, acquisition and realizations, and delisting. In 2011, the company had sales of CHF 2.69 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com
Additional Information
Lonza Group Ltd
Head of Corporate Communications Dominik Werner
Tel +41 61 316 8798
Fax +41 61 316 9798 [email protected]
Lonza Group Ltd Investor Relations
Dirk Oehlers
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Lonza Group Ltd
Media Relations
Melanie Disa
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