The Swiss life science ingredients supplier made the forecast after it completed the installation of serialisation technology at its facility in Edinburgh, Scotland last month.
The technology includes a line capable of serialising and tamper-proofing liquid-filled hard-capsule (LFHC) cartons for aggregation on shipment pallets.
Lonza predicted customers would benefit from this investment, citing drug serialisation rules soon to be introduced under the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and US Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) as a driver.
Jane Fraser, head of operations at the site, said, “It’s important for our customers to know that our Lonza Edinburgh facility is ahead of the curve and already fully compliant with the new regulatory requirements in the United States and EU to combat anti-counterfeiting.
"Our new serialization line and quality system – fully commissioned and qualified this year – are now being used to serialize our customers’ sales packs, well in advance of the serialization deadlines" she added.
Lonza joins fellow contractors like Recipharm and Almac, which have also built promotional campaigns emphasising their compliance with serialisation regulations – also known as track & trace – in the US, Europe and other markets.
Technology firms like GEA and Zenith Technologies have also expanded their serialisation offerings, predicting that demand for compliant systems will also increase.