Switzerland-based Lonza gained a presence in Bend through its 2016 takeover of Capsugel, which had itself picked up the Oregon site in its acquisition of Bend Research a few years earlier. Since acquiring the site, Lonza has continued to invest in the Oregon operation, adding new solid-form services last year and following up with the addition of an early clinical phase development and manufacturing facility in 2022.
Lonza’s investment in its early clinical phase capabilities reflects the state of the market, as Jason Bertola, executive director, commercial development, small molecules at the Swiss service provider, explained.
“The early stages of drug development are critical to our business, and we continue to observe strong demand from customers. These fit-for-purpose suites are designed to rapidly advance challenging molecules,” said Bertola.
At the facility, Lonza has spray drying dispersion capabilities to create powders for oral delivery, a Gerteis roller compactor for dry granulation capabilities, and a Korsch tablet press and Vector LDCS coater to create immediate-release dosage forms.
The capabilities equip Lonza to develop amorphous dispersions to improve the solubility of highly crystalline molecules, and to create engineered particles suitable for oral or respiratory delivery. Lonza is integrating the capabilities into a full-service offering for delivery solutions in the belief that it can help to accelerate product development.
“This recent expansion is dedicated to early-phase development to position our partners for successful clinical trials. The facility features seven GMP processing suites. This enables improved capabilities for development and clinical manufacture of drug product intermediates and drug products, which will help speed up product delivery for early phase clinical trials. The increased capacity and capability provided will increase flexibility and benefit customer timelines,” said Bertola.
Lonza is continuing to invest in the site. Later this year, the company expects to add a second spray dryer for the manufacturing of engineered particles for inhalation. The addition of equipment for encapsulated drug products to the processing suites is also on Lonza’s roadmap for 2022.
Lonza is exhibiting at the BIO International Convention in San Diego until June 16, in booth 1123. For more information about the event, visit the show site.
