Lonza Builds “Factory of Tomorrow” with Investments in Continuous Flow and Microreactor Technology
08 February 2012 – Lonza today announced an investment into a new manufacturing concept, offering increased flexibility and capacity for production that uses continuous flow and microreactor technologies. The manufacturing concept which will be established at its Visp, Switzerland site, will help Lonza serve its customers better in both the development and manufacture of APIs.
Lonza’s “Factory of Tomorrow” will offer expedited development and technical transfer in a cGMP environment and expanded capabilities for multiple chemical reactions in extreme conditions. It will offer production of multi-tons of intermediates and/or APIs based on continuous flow processing. Lonza currently operates assets that can produce several kilograms to several tons of small molecule APIs using microreactors. The new facility will provide an integrated solution where all common unit operations in flow can be streamlined in a flexible fashion with the Lonza award winning FlowPlate™ MicroReactors, enabling faster change-over of processes and efficiencies in production and cleaning. The facility will be ready for full operation in June 2012.
“Lonza’s commitment to our “Factory of Tomorrow” represents a milestone in the long term plan for more efficient and sustainable processes in fine chemical manufacturing. Our customers will benefit from Lonza‘s experience in flow chemistry, now adapted for large scale needs of the industry. We expect to share significant cost savings with our customers as a result of this commitment to novel processing and a long term relationship”, says Stefan Stoffel, Head of Lonza’s Chemical Manufacturing Business Unit.
About Lonza
Lonza is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Products and services span its customers’ needs from research to final product manufacture. It is the global leader in the production and support of active pharmaceutical ingredients both chemically as well as biotechnologically. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. Lonza is also the world leader in microbial control providing innovative, chemistry-based and related solutions to destroy or to selectively inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms. Its activities encompass the areas of water treatment, personal care, health and hygiene, industrial preservation, materials protection, and wood treatment. In addition, Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Furthermore, the company is a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition and agro markets.
Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and secondary listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”). Lonza is not subject to the SGX-ST’s continuing listing requirements. Lonza is subject to the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange, which do not have specific requirements equivalent to the listing rules of the SGX-ST in respect of interested person transactions, acquisition and realizations, and delisting. In 2011, the company had sales of CHF 2.69 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com.
