Lonza to establish strategic biomanufacturing base in China using GE Healthcare

As the facility is part of a larger biomanufacturing initiative between GE Healthcare and Guangzhou Development District (GDD), the agreement will be finalised when contracts have been signed with the GDD.

Later today, Lonza will sign a memorandum of understanding with the GDD to take the project forward. The new facility will give Lonza Pharma & Biotech a strategic base in China to respond to growing demand for high-quality CDMO services in the country.

By working with GE Healthcare to develop the new facility, based on the KUBio platform, an off-the-shelf biologics factory, Lonza intends to offer its suite of antibody development services and manufacture GMP-certified batches by 2020.

The two companies will work closely on the design of the 17,000 m2 site, which will include 6500 m2 of lab space and one KUBio facility.

The labs will house Lonza’s proprietary platforms for cell-line construction, including the GS Gene Expression System, as well as process development, cell banking and pilot labs.

The KUBio unit will enable small-scale GMP manufacturing equipped with GE Healthcare’s single-use biomanufacturing technologies, including 1000 and 2000 L bioreactors, combined with Lonza’s automation platforms for clinical and early commercial supply.

“This partnership is the ideal way for Lonza to bring our expertise and technology to China,” said Marc Funk, COO Lonza Pharma & Biotech.

“The combination of a strong and experienced technology provider with a long history in China, together with a dynamic regional authority, means that we can rapidly offer services to customers and ultimately get innovative therapies to patients more quickly.”