Lonza, a global manufacturing partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition industries, announced it will invest to expand mammalian development services in Singapore. The expansion will establish additional capacity for cell culture, purification, and analytical services for mammalian biologics.

The increased service capabilities complement the existing offering, consisting of cell line construction services, process development and process characterization services at the mammalian and cell therapy manufacturing site in Singapore.

This investment will expand the current laboratory capabilities by establishing a new 1,800m laboratory at Singapore Science Park, increasing the headcount of the mammalian development services team in Singapore to 125 employees. The new laboratory began operations in September. As part of the investment, the existing laboratories at Lonza’s Tuas, Singapore site will be upgraded by the end of 2021.

Jeetendra Vaghjiani, Senior Director of Clinical Development for Mammalian Biologics, Lonza, commented: “The growth of our global manufacturing network brought a need to increase services supporting these assets. The investment to expand our mammalian manufacturing services in Singapore will ensure that our team continues to deliver timely support to our customers, in particular for process development and characterization studies necessary for advancing therapies towards regulatory approvals and commercialization.”

As part of the expansion, Lonza will invest in the latest technology for mammalian process and analytical development through the addition of systems for cell line development, the latest in perfusion and process analytical technology for process development, as well as providing the capability to perform extensive characterization of biopharmaceuticals using mass spectrometry for the first time in Singapore. The investment will also provide opportunities to expand the service offering and strengthen the position for the anticipated market growth in complex protein formats.