Lonza is investing CHF 20 million in GMP laboratories and mid-scale manufacturing assets at its API manufacturing center in Nansha, China. The investment will allow Lonza to provide a smoother transition from small-scale to large-scale manufacturing for customers.

The expansion will include six 1,000L small molecule reactors, four 1,500L vessels, and isolation equipment providing mid-scale capacity to bridge between early-phase and late-phase production. The additional GMP labs will be able to develop and manufacture highly potent API (HPAPI) under GMP standards. The expanded labs and manufacturing facilities are expected to come online between 1Q22 and 3Q22.

Lonza’s Nansha site is fully integrated within the company’s global manufacturing network. Scientists and engineers based in Nansha focus on API development and manufacturing for customers around the globe. The Lonza team also contains regulatory specialists with experience working with Chinese regulators throughout the drug development and scale-up process. Approximately 250 employees work at Lonza’s Nansha site; this expansion is expected to create around 70 new positions.

Jan Vertommen, Senior Director, Commercial Development, Lonza, said, “Increasing our capabilities by adding mid-scale API manufacturing at our site in Nansha will benefit our customers, and especially the many global emerging biotech companies we partner with. These companies need cost-effective, seamless ways to move small molecule compounds from early-phase to commercial according to global quality and regulatory standards, and these expanded facilities at our Nansha site are designed to help them to do so.”