Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Maker Lonza Biologics to Hire 70 in New Hampshire
August 22, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Lonza Biologics , part of Swiss-based Lonza Group, is building a new facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and plans to hire 70 staffers to work there.
The new building is a mammalian cell suite. The company originally located in Portsmouth in 1996, and has expanded twice since them.
“We’re in this phase where biotech business is booming throughout the globe,” Carson Sublett, the senior site director of Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth told the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Lonza Biologics’s Portsmouth facility was built to produce therapeutic proteins derived from mammalian cell culture. It utilizes deep tank fermentation systems, and houses mid-scale and large-scale reactors.
Lonza Group is a leading supplier to biopharma and specialty ingredient markets. Aside from the Portsmouth site, its others major U.S. sites are in Atlanta, Rochester, New York, Charleston, Tennessee, Walkersville, Maryland, and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It also has locations in Belgium, South Africa, the Czech Republic, China, Spain, Brazil, the UK, Singapore and Switzerland.
On June 30, 2016, Lonza announced it had acquired Triangle Research Labs (TRL) from PBM Capital Group, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. TRL manufactures and sells hepatocytes and other products that support various drug development and manufacturing activities.
“By adding TRL with its highly qualified colleagues to our global business, Lonza further strengthens its position as a worldwide leader in cell discovery,” said Teun van der Heide, vice president, head of Bioscience Solutions for Lonza, in a statement. “Integrating this business into its primary cell portfolio lays the basis for new product offerings and the entry into new strategic markets. This acquisition is in line with Lonza’s strategy to continue to develop its life-science platform and to expand its global cell-biology portfolio.”
On June 9, Lonza Houston, which focuses on viral gene and cell therapy manufacturing, inked a deal with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based bluebird bio , which focuses on gene therapies for severe genetic diseases, as well as T cell-based immunotherapies for cancer. The commercial manufacturing agreement sets the groundwork for future commercial production of bluebird bio’s Lenti-D and LentiGlobin drug products.
“As we advance our gene therapy programs through clinical trials, we are deliberately building key infrastructure and relationships in preparation for commercial launch,” said Nick Leschly, chief executive officer of bluebird, in a statement. “Our partnership with Lonza is one notable example of our progress on the manufacturing front, and we are pleased to benefit from their expertise as we continue working to bring transformational therapies to patients in need.”
In July, Lonza Group posted $2.12 billion (US) for the first half of the year, up 6 percent from the same period in 2015. The company indicates that the biggest growth has been in the pharma, biotech and specialty ingredients business, especially in the mammalian cell culture-based manufacturing unit, bioscience solutions, and cost cutting measures.
Currently, most of the more than 900 employees at Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth are graduates from the University of New Hampshire. The company also has a relationship with Great Bay Community College and with UNH Manchester. During this summer the company had 22 interns.
Much of the Portsmouth activities involve large scale cell culturing. The Lonza Group manufactures the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for 20 biopharmaceutical products on the market.