Drug substance production line expected to be operational by end of 2021 as part of CDMO’s expanded collaboration with biotech

Lonza will install a new manufacturing line for drug substance production at its Geleen site in the Netherlands to support the manufacture of an extra 300 million doses per year of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, as part of an expanded collaboration with the biotech, the CDMO announced Wednesday.

Lonza said the new production line will complement its existing drug substance production network for Moderna’s vaccine and deliver a crucial manufacturing step to increase overall drug substance output. 

“As such, the new production line will contribute to the supply of up to an additional 300 million doses per year, at a 50ug dose, once operating at full capacity,” the CDMO said.

The new production line is expected to be operational by the end of 2021. Lonza said it will leverage its existing infrastructure in Geleen to provide fast build-out and ramp-up of operations.

In May 2020, Lonza and Moderna announced a ten-year strategic collaboration agreement for the manufacture of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine and additional future Moderna products. At the time, the companies said their aim was to establish additional production suites across Lonza’s worldwide facilities, to support manufacturing of material equivalent to up to 1 billion doses per year.

Since then, Lonza has installed three production lines at its Visp site in Switzerland and one production line in Portsmouth, US. In April 2021, Lonza and Moderna entered a new agreement to add three further production lines at Visp.