Lonza holds grand opening for state-of-the-art drug product services labs.
Lonza, a global leader in chemical and biological manufacturing, recently held the grand opening of its state-of-the-art pharmaceutical Drug Product Services laboratories in the Stücki Science Park Basel, Switzerland. Scientists in the new 1,300 square meter (14,000 square foot) facility will focus initially on formulation development, drug product analytical development and quality control.
Approximately 75 guests and Lonza participants attended the ribbon-cutting event, which featured a tour of the facility, hands-on experimental stations, and a virtual reality journey into the world of Drug Product development, manufacture and administration.
Pictured: A group tour of the new facilities. The lab teams aim to successfully advance customers’ drug product development programs. (Credit: Lonza Group Ltd)
Among the dignitaries attending the event was Christoph Brutschin, state councillor, head of the Department of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs of the Canton of Basel-Stadt and president of the Conference of the Cantonal Councillors for the Economy (CCCE). He pointed out that Switzerland, and Basel in particular, has a thriving R&D environment: “The new state-of-the-art facility can support not just global, established pharma customers, but also small startups like the ones that make their home in Basel.”
Richard Ridinger, CEO of Lonza, said: “We chose Basel for Lonza’s first-ever drug product development facility because it offers us access to the latest technologies and world-leading experts in a central location, one that’s a hub of innovation in the pharma industry.”
He added: “The addition of drug product development services to Lonza’s global offerings is the next part of our journey along the healthcare continuum, a step that moves us closer to our customers and their patients.”
The new Drug Product Service laboratory teams, led by Hanns-Christian Mahler, utilize industry best practices to successfully advance customers’ drug product development programs.
In addition to providing services like particle testing or container closure integrity testing to enable safer medicines, the Lonza hub offers services to detect trace impurities in pharmaceutical products, e.g. extractables and leachables from plastics used in manufacturing. All of these services are offered as standalone or as part of a comprehensive drug product development program, comprising formulation, stability, primary packaging, process development, and manufacturing, always with patient usability and patient safety in mind.
Further information is available on the Lonza Drug Product Services website, www.lonza.com/drugproduct.
(Photos, this page and home page, courtesy of Lonza Group Ltd)
