Lonza to Acquire Manufacturing Facility from Shire

On Oct. 3, 2017, Lonza announced the acquisition of a clinical-stage mammalian manufacturing facility in the United States from Shire, a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for rare diseases. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The 58,000-ft² (approximately 5,388-m²) site, located in Hayward, CA, has been operating as a multiproduct cGMP facility since 1990. Assets include 1,000-L and 2,000-L single-use bioreactors and associated downstream capabilities. This acquisition will provide added cGMP capacity and will supplement existing assets in Lonza’s UK site at Slough, Berkshire. Lonza customer batches will be initiated in 2018. The Hayward site’s more than 100 current employees will continue their roles under Lonza.

“As a committed partner to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Lonza recognizes the need for established and dependable global manufacturing facilities,” said Karen Fallen, vice president, business unit head, clinical development, for Lonza, in a company press release. "The acquisition of this site allows our customers greater access to clinical capacity from a US site. The additional capacity will support the needs of our customers to secure manufacture for their products’ complete lifecycle across Lonza’s global manufacturing network."