Lonza Invests in Product Development and Manufacturing

Lonza invests in additional Swiss Drug Product Manufacturing Capabilities 

Investing in additional drug product manufacturing capabilities in Switzerland, the investment will fund an additional aseptic flexible filling line for the clinical supply of drug products in Stein. The new line will allow Lonza to process various modalities such as monoclonal antibodies, bioconjugates, viral vectors, and other gene therapy products.

Harnessing state-of-the-art robotic technology, and implementing an innovative freeze-drying technology with sustainable air-cooling, this installation is expected to be complete by 2023, creating more than 70 new positions at the company’s Stein site. 

The expansion will further support the pharmaceutical development for early and late clinical stages and increase the process development and characterisation capabilities. In addition, it will strengthen the integrated drug substance and drug product offerings across multiple modalities. 

"The drug product capability expansions in Switzerland provide our customers with access to a flexible, integrated offering comprising the development, testing and manufacturing services for mammalian, microbial, bioconjugate products, cell and gene therapies, and small molecules. Enhancing our global drug product capacity underlines Lonza's continuing commitment to providing our customers with an end-to-end solution across various modalities and scales,” said Jean-Christophe Hyvert, President, Biologics and Cell and Gene, Lonza.

"Our Drug Product Services offering in Basel is a world-class capability and represents a centre of excellence for Lonza's global drug product network. Alongside the investment in the filling line in Stein, expanding the footprint and capabilities of our Drug Product Services allows us to answer customer demand for integrated solutions,” added Peter Droc, Head of Drug Product Services, Lonza.

Lonza Collaborates With Allarity Therapeutics

In a joint collaboration between Lonza and Allarity Therapeutics, the two have announced plans to develop and manufacture dovitinib which will commence in 2022 to meet the needs of Allarity Therapeutics’ projected needs, following regulatory approval. 

Dovitinib is Allarity Therapeutics’ most advanced clinical asset. It targets metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with possible use in other indications (liver cancer, breast cancer and various solid tumours). 

“Entering this agreement with Lonza is an important step in our long-term preparations to take dovitinib towards commercialization. Allarity now has a robust agreement covering the production and ongoing supply of dovitinib that we will need in the years to come,” said Steve Carchedi, CEO, Allarity Therapeutics. 

As part of the agreement, Lonza will provide its capabilities for commercial manufacturing of small-molecules and oral solid doses providing cGMP compliant drug product supply and regulatory support.

“Our collaboration with Allarity Therapeutics demonstrates our commitment to supporting companies with their development pipeline. Our unique and comprehensive set of capabilities supporting drug substance through to drug product development and manufacturing enable Allarity to focus on dovitinib commercialization,” added Christian Dowdeswell, VP and Global Head, Commercial Development – Small Molecules, Lonza.