Lonza, a healthcare development and manufacturing organization, completed acquisition of the Genentech large-scale biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, California (US) from Roche for $1.2 billion.
The Vacaville facility significantly extends Lonza’s capacity for mammalian manufacturing in the US, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. It creates a significant West Coast commercial manufacturing presence close to San Francisco’s pharma and biotech hub, complementing Lonza’s existing East Coast manufacturing site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as its international network across Europe and Asia Pacific.
With a total bioreactor capacity of around 3,30,000 litres, the Vacaville site is one of the largest biologics manufacturing facilities in the world. The acquisition significantly extends manufacturing capacity for late-stage clinical and commercial products, and new molecules on the path to commercialization within the Lonza network.
The site joins the Mammalian business unit within Lonza’s Biologics division, with more than 750 Vacaville colleagues now being employed directly by Lonza.
Wolfgang Wienand, CEO, Lonza commented, “The successful acquisition of the Vacaville site marks a major milestone for Lonza, and for our commitment to deliver long-term value for our customers and shareholders. As the Vacaville site joins our Biologics division, we look forward to bringing new customer projects into the facility to meet sustained demand for commercial biologics manufacturing across our business. I am also delighted to welcome more than 750 highly skilled Vacaville colleagues into our global team, as they begin a new chapter with Lonza”.
The acquisition of the large-scale mammalian manufacturing site complements Lonza’s ongoing investments in large-scale bioconjugation in Visp (CH) and drug product manufacturing in Stein (CH), supporting its ability to meet demand for the large-scale, end-to-end manufacturing of complex biologics.
Lonza plans to invest approximately CHF 500 million to further upgrade the facility and add capabilities to meet demand for the next generation of mammalian biologics therapies.
As per the press release, the products previously manufactured at the site will now be supplied by Lonza to Roche with committed minimum volumes over the medium term, phasing out over time as the site transitions to serve alternative customers.
