Lonza Extends Collaboration for Monoclonal Antibody Supply at Scale

Lonza, a CDMO partner to the biopharma industry, announced the extension of its collaboration with a major biopharmaceutical partner for the commercial-scale manufacture of monoclonal antibodies, under a long-term agreement. At scale, and following product approval, the agreement will absorb a significant proportion of the capacity of the large-scale mammalian asset under construction in Visp, which will accommodate six 20,000L bioreactors. Together with other customers, approximately 75% of the facility’s available capacity is now reserved.

Charles Christy, Director, Commercial Solutions, Lonza, added: “This deal reinforces the speed and flexibility of the Ibex® Solutions concept. Having supported the development of the customer’s ADC from clinical trials towards commercial approval, we are pleased to continue to support our customer as this latest key molecule moves towards commercial manufacture. This growing partnership is built on trust, service, delivery and supply chain simplification, with all the critical elements for our customer’s ADC manufactured at a single site.”

ADCs are bioconjugates and represent an innovative therapeutic modality that is growing rapidly and providing effective therapies to patients with reduced side effects. ADCs usually combine an antibody with a highly potent payload (via a linker molecule) to target cancer cells. The antibody serves as the delivery method to target the toxic drug precisely to cancer cells, limiting toxicity to healthy cells.