The company said the expansion builds on its existing EDS activities at Cambridge, England, that on behalf of its customers support assessing, de-risking, and optimizing biotherapeutic drug candidates to maximize their chances of success.  If caught early, potential issues can be mitigated to reduce failure risks and improve speed to clinic for biotherapeutic candidates.

In the UK, Lonza provides services via a suite of in silico, early non-GMP protein expression and in vitro immunogenicity services. The new facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts will offer the same capabilities, namely early non-GMP expression and in vitro immunosafety assessment services.

At the location close to the Boston biotech community, the new Lonza facility will primarily serve preclinical stage small- to mid-sized companies in the development of biologic drug candidates from early development through to commercialization.

As, on average, only one in every thousand molecules succeeds beyond Phase 1 trials, early development services are essential in mitigating risks, reducing attrition and improving the quality and safety of biologic treatments, said Jean-Christophe Hyvert, president, Biologics at Lonza.

Yvette Stallwood, head of Early Development Services, said the new Massachsetts lab increases the Swiss company’s flexibility to support US biotechs in advancing potentially life-saving drug candidates from late-stage discovery into the clinic and help them manage the path to commercialization for their novel therapies.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist