Singapore site joins 12 cGMP-certified plants in the U.S. and Europe.

Lonza is bolstering its cell therapy manufacturing capabilities with the construction of a facility at the Tuas Biomedical Park in Singapore. A CHF 30 million, or about $27 million, investment is being made into the first phase of construction. This will include two manufacturing suites that are expected to come on-stream by mid-2011.

Lonza said additional suites could be added in the future to meet increased demand. This plant will be next to the company’s existing large-scale mammalian production plant. The company already operates 12 cGMP-certified cell therapy manufacturing suites in the U.S. and Europe.

“Cell Therapy is expected to be one of the most important innovation drivers of modern medicine,” comments Stefan Borgas, Lonza CEO. “This new cell therapy manufacturing facility is the next step in fulfilling our strategy to expand our capacity globally and our presence in Asia. The expansion in Singapore further fortifies the strategic relationship Lonza has with the Singapore government, which has been developed through the successful build-up of our large-scale manufacturing facility.”

Lim Chuan Poh, chairman of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research, welcomed Lonza’s decision to expand its presence in the country. “This will be a crucial addition to the country’s biomedical research landscape by providing the capability to support Singapore’s translational research efforts, both in the public and private sectors, in stem cells and cell therapy development through the production of clinical-grade cells that can be used for first-in-man studies and clinical trials.”


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Past News from Lonza

Teva and Lonza Set Up Biosimilars JV (Jan. 20, 2009)
Lonza and Kyowa Hakko Extend Strategic Collaboration (July 15, 2008)
Novartis Signs On Lonza to Help Advance Biologics (July 11, 2008)
Lonza Reports Manufacturing Deal with Osiris and Facility Constructions (July 1, 2008)
Lonza Takes Over Amaxa to Pad Cell-Discovery Franchise (May 27, 2008)

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