Lonza Group Ltd is expanding its cell therapy business with the construction of a new facility in Singapore. This new facility will broaden the global presence and consolidate Lonza's leading position in the area of cell therapy production. The new facility will be located adjacent to Lonza's large-scale mammalian manufacturing facility at Tuas Biomedical Park. The total investment for the first phase will be approximately CHF 30 million.
Cellular-based therapeutics promise to address many unmet medical needs across many disease categories. Lonza, with twelve existing cGMP-certified cell therapy manufacturing suites in the USA and Europe, is uniquely positioned to provide full custom manufacturing support for this type of therapies worldwide.
"This new cell therapy manufacturing facility is a next step in fulfilling our strategy to expand our capacity globally and our presence in Asia. Cell Therapy is expected to be one of the most important innovation drivers of modern medicine and this new facility reinforces Lonza's leading position as a custom manufacturer of cellular therapeutics", comments Stefan Borgas, CEO of Lonza. "The facility will operate with cutting-edge technologies and a skilled labour force, allowing it to readily meet the needs of a broad range of customers and address the growing global demand for Cell Therapies. This 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 mammalian facility."
"We are delighted that Lonza has chosen Singapore to locate its first cell therapy plant in Asia. This extends the highly successful Lonza-Singapore partnership from chemicals to biologics manufacturing and now, the production of cellular therapeutics. Besides enhancing Singapore's capabilities in this important new area of opportunity in biomedical sciences, Lonza's decision is testimony to Singapore's position as a trusted operating base for global businesses and as their home base in Asia," said Dr Beh Swan Gin, managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board.
Lim Chuan Poh, chairman of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), said: "I welcome Lonza's decision to set up a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Singapore. 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. I wish Lonza every success and look forward to the positive impact that their new facility will have on translational and clinical research in Singapore."
Construction will begin early in 2010 and the facility is expected to begin manufacturing therapies within the first two suites by mid-2011. The facility is designed to accommodate additional suites built to meet incremental customer demand.
Lonza, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is one of the world's leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Its products and services span its customers' needs from research to final product manufacture. Lonza is the global leader in the production and support of active pharmaceutical ingredients, both chemically and biologically.