Lonza has completed its planned cGMP clinical and commercial drug product manufacturing line in Visp (CH). The new line will support drug product manufacturing needs for both clinical and commercial supply. The 1,200 square meter cGMP facility includes a state-of-the-art liquid and lyophilized vial filling isolator line for multiple modalities that fulfils the GMP Annex 1 requirement for the manufacture of sterile products. The line is fully operational and cGMP licensed, with the first customer batches due to be filled in April 2023.

The asset is part of Lonza’s Ibex Biopark and complements recent expansions at the Visp site, including in bioconjugation, mammalian manufacturing and microbial development. Together, these developments support Lonza’s long-term growth strategy to build capacity in areas of high customer demand, and its ambition to provide flexible end-to-end solutions for customers at a single location – from drug substance to drug product.

In a statement, the company said that the completion of the line in Visp also marks a significant milestone in the growth of Lonza’s leading DPS offering. It follows the recent groundbreaking of a new facility in Stein (CH), which will be dedicated to large-scale commercial drug product manufacturing and is being delivered through an investment of approximately CHF 500 million.

In addition, ongoing investment to expand the DPS network is enabling Lonza to offer end-to-end solutions across the whole product lifecycle, including clinical and commercial supply.

Peter Droc, head of drug product services, Lonza, said: “Since establishing Drug Product Services in 2016, we have built a leading offering that meets customer needs across the pharma and biotech value chain, from formulation to filling. With demand for drug product manufacturing continuing to increase, this new cGMP clinical and commercial line in Visp launches at a crucial time for our customers and market. It also strengthens our DPS capabilities, by enabling us to offer customers a flexible and integrated service offering from a single location.”

The new manufacturing line in Visp will be supported by Lonza’s Drug Product Center of Excellence in Stücki Technology Park, Basel (CH). The Stücki facility offers a range of drug product development services to customers, including formulation and process development, analytical development and quality control.