Lonza Acquires US Clinical Biomfg Facility; On Track to Complete Cell Therapy Mfg Facility

In two separate developments, Lonza has agreed to acquire a clinical-stage mammalian manufacturing site in the US from Shire and is nearing completion of a cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility near Houston, Texas.

The 58,000-square-foot site from Shire, located in Hayward, California, is a multiproduct cGMP facility. Assets include 1,000-liter and 2,000-liter single-use bioreactors and associated downstream capabilities. Currently, the site employs more than 100 personnel, all of whom will have the opportunity to continue in their role with Lonza.

The acquisition of the site will provide additional cGMP capacity and will supplement Lonza’s existing assets in Slough, UK. Lonza customer batches will be initiated in 2018.

Separately, Lonza has announced its new cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility in Pearland, in the area of Houston, Texas, which started construction in 2016, is nearing completion and is on schedule to start production in the first quarter of 2018.

The multi-purpose facility will include independent cGMP modular cleanrooms for up to 2,000-liter-scale production in single-use bioreactors. Grade-B cleanrooms will also be constructed to continue the manufacture of cell-therapy products. The facility will more than double Lonza’s capacity for the production of cell and gene therapeutics and will include a fully segregated fill/finish suite.

Lonza provided the update on the facility following the hurricanes that hit Texas in late August and early September. The company reported that all employees are safe despite damage to some of their homes and vehicles. In response, Lonza has pledged funds to disaster relief throughout Texas and is providing additional monetary support to affected employees.

Source: Lonza (clinical biomfg facility) and Lonza (texas facility update)

 

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