Sanofi and Lonza partner up for €270m biologics facility
pharmafile | February 28, 2017 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Lonza, Sanofi
Sanofi and Lonza have announced they are to join forces in a strategic partnership which will see the establishment of a €270 million large-scale biologics facility in Visp, Switzerland.
The facility, which will be jointly owned by the French and Swiss companies, will manufacture monoclonal antibodies using living cells. Lonza will handle the building and operation of the new plant; it is expected the project will be completed in 2020. According the company’s, the move “leverages Lonza’s expertise in large-scale mammalian cell culture facilities alongside Sanofi’s strength in developing and launching biologics based treatments to address patient needs.”
“The joint venture between Sanofi and Lonza emphasises our commitment to provide access for patients to high quality therapeutic monoclonal antibodies,” Sanofi’s Philippe Luscan, Executive Vice President, Global Industrial Affairs, commented. “Approximately 60% of our pipeline is made up of biologics, including monoclonal antibodies, dedicated to key disease areas such as cardiovascular, immunology and inflammation, neurology and oncology. Lonza is a highly experienced partner in this field and the capabilities which this joint venture will create are critical to meeting our patients’ needs for these important therapies.”
The partnership promises flexibility and expediency for Sanofi’s biologic medicine delivery, while Lonza benefits from an expanded operational capacity in response to increasing manufacturing demands for large-scale mammalian cell culture-based therapeutic proteins.
Marc Funk, Chief Operating Officer, Pharma & Biotech at Lonza added: “By entering into this long-term strategic relationship we have developed a tailor-made business model that best fits both Sanofi’s and Lonza’s requirements. It provides to Sanofi dedicated capacity, which allows for a clear win-win situation for all participants.
“As part of our strategic roadmap, we will develop further innovative business models based on the requirements of our customers. We intend to address these long-term market needs by establishing a state-of-the-art strategic biologics manufacturing platform. The strategic partnership with Sanofi represents the first module in this undertaking; and we are convinced that with this future-oriented approach, we can serve additional customers.”
Matt Fellows
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