A roundup of news from CDMOs/CMOs with developments in both drug substances and drugs products featuring Lonza and Mabion. Highlights below.   

* Lonza Expanding Conjugation Capacity; Adding Sterile Filling Line; Acquiring Roche Biomanufacturing Facility    
* Mabion Expands Biologics Mfg & Adds Sterile Filling Line     

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Lonza Expanding Conjugation Capacity; Adding Sterile Filling Line; Acquiring Roche Biomanufacturing Facility  
Lonza is advancing several investments and expansions in both drug substances and drug products. The company is integrating its recent acquisition of Synaffix B.V., a biotech company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The acquisition enhances Lonza’s bioconjugates offering by integrating Synaffix’s technology platform. Throughout 2024, Lonza and Synaffix will continue to expand their Center of Excellence for bioconjugate technology development, with a focus on out-licensing bioconjugates technologies for cytotoxic ADCs, targeted gene therapies, immune-cell engagers applications and other applications. The integration will be completed by June 2025. 

Lonza will drive further capability and capacity expansions in 2024, including a dedicated commercial-scale aseptic cGMP filling line at its site in Stein, Switerland, to be operational by 2027. This new filling line will handle and fill bioconjugates for the commercial supply of ADCs and create approximately 115 new jobs at peak capacity. Lonza also extended its long-term collaboration with a major global biopharmaceutical partner to significantly increase bioconjugation capacity for the commercialization of ADCs by adding two new bioconjugation suites at Lonza’s site in Visp, Switzerland. This expansion is expected to be one of the largest bioconjugation facilities globally (1,500 m²) and will provide around 180 new jobs when operational in 2026. At Lonza’s site in Geelen, the Netherlands, a new 4,000-m² dedicated facility has opened for the development and small-scale manufacturing of mRNA-based therapies. 

Separately, Lonza announced on March 20, 2024, plans to acquire a large-scale biomanufacturing plant from Roche’s Genentech for $1.2 billion. See full story here.  

Source: Lonza 

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Mabion Expands Biologics Mfg & Adds Sterile Filling Line   
Mabion, a CDMO of biologic drug substances and drug products, is increasing production biomanufacturing capacity with the installation of Cytiva’s Xcellerex XDR advanced mixed SUBs, ranging from 10 liters to 2,000 liters, bringing total capacity to over 10,000 liters.  

In addition, the company has invested in in equipment (Beacon Select System) for the development of stable cell lines.  

Mabion additionally installed a new fully isolated sterile filling line, which will increase throughput for filling various vial formats, from 0.2 mL to 100 mL.  

Source: Mabion