Lonza has agreed to acquire a large-scale biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, California, from Roche’s Genentech for $1.2 billion. 

The Vacaville facility currently has a total bioreactor capacity of approximately 330,000 liters. Under the agreement, approximately 750 Genentech employees at the Vacaville facility will be offered employment by Lonza. 

Lonza plans to invest an additional CHF 500 million ($554 million) to upgrade the Vacaville facility and enhance capabilities for producing mammalian biologic therapies. The products currently manufactured at the site by Roche will be supplied by Lonza, with committed volumes over the medium term and phasing out over time as the site transitions to serve alternative customers. 

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Upon closing, the Vacaville site will be integrated into Lonza’s Biologics Division, joining a network of existing mammalian manufacturing sites in Visp, Switzerland; Slough, the UK;  Singapore; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Porriño, Spain. 

Source: Lonza