Lonza Completes Expansion of Microbial Manufacturing Facility
Lonza recently announced that it has completed a planned expansion of the mid-scale microbial manufacturing facility at its Visp, Switzerland site. This multi-product facility was recently granted a GMP license, allowing cGMP manufacturing and release of biologics produced using microbial fermentation.
The facility offers mid-scale commercial manufacturing with two 4,000 L fermenters, providing scalable capacity to meet customer needs. It features extensive automation for efficiency, product quality, and regulatory compliance. Located in the Ibex Biopark in Visp, it benefits from existing infrastructure, capabilities, and talent.
“Microbial manufacturing is a well-established and a favored option for producing complex proteins," commented Michael De Marco, Vice President, Head of Microbial, Lonza. "Recent growth in the heterogeneity of the biotech pipeline, alongside the growth of smaller and more complex next-generation molecules, has increased demand for microbial manufacturing capacity. This expansion adds to our suite of scales and further strengthens our offering to flexibly adapt to all demand and life cycle scenarios of our customer’s medicines.”
Lonza’s new mid-scale facility boosts its microbial manufacturing flexibility, complementing its existing small and large-scale capabilities. It supports a wide range of drug developers with phase-appropriate supply and features advanced automation, including an electronic manufacturing execution system (MES) and integrated sensors.
