Sanofi and Lonza to build €270m mammalian cell culture facility in Switzerland

Sanofi and Lonza have plans to invest €270m in a new mammalian cell culture facility in Visp, Switzerland, for monoclonal antibody production.

The proposed facility will be established through a 50-50 joint venture (JV).

The partnership will leverage Sanofi’s strength in developing and launching biologics based treatments and Lonza’s experience in large-scale mammalian cell culture facilities.

Construction of the facility is set to commence this year. It is expected to be fully operational by 2020.

Sanofi global industrial affairs executive vice-president Philippe Luscan said: "In addition to the investments we are making in building our own internal production capabilities, the JV between Sanofi and Lonza emphasises our commitment to provide access for patients to high-quality therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

"Approximately 60% of our pipeline is made up of biologics, including monoclonal antibodies, dedicated to key disease areas such as cardiovascular, immunology and inflammation, neurology and oncology."

Under the collaboration, the companies will share the available capacity in line with their equity shareholding in the JV.

The partnership will provide Sanofi with additional access to bio-manufacturing capacity to support increasing demand for its portfolio of biologic therapeutic products.

Lonza will construct the facility and support the JV in its operation of the facility, and receive required capacities to respond to growing manufacturing demands for large-scale mammalian cell culture-based therapeutic proteins.

The partnership model is expected to help with optimising biologics production capacity across the whole industry.