Lonza and Bio*One Capital enter into Joint Venture

15/02/06 Lonza Group and Singapore’s Bio*One Capital are jointly building a large-scale mammalian cell culture plant in Singapore for the manufacture of commercial biopharmaceuticals. It is Lonza’s second large-scale mammalian manufacturing plant. The plant, which will be located in Tuas Biomedical Park, will include up to 4 mammalian bioreactor trains, each with a flexible capacity of 1'000 up to 20'000 litres and inclusive of the respective purification units. This joint venture between Lonza and Bio*One Capital was signed on February 14, 2006. The investment will amount to USD 250 million.

The plant will be constructed over two phases. The construction of the plant shell in the first phase has been initiated. The groundbreaking ceremony will be celebrated on 15 February 2006. The final build-out of the plant will be completed and become operational at the end of 2009 in line with customer commitments. When fully completed, the facility is expected to hire more than 300 people.

Mr Stefan Borgas, CEO of Lonza, commented: “With this project Lonza further strengthens its leading position as a global custom manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals entering the fast growing Asian market. It is an important milestone in implementing Lonza’s strategy to grow the biopharmaceuticals business. The plant will operate with cutting edge technology and is able to manufacture products with a wide array of processes. It will offer our customers a second source out of one hand and therewith substantially increase security of supply.”

Through this joint venture, Bio*One Capital is strengthening its investment focus on biopharmaceuticals. The project leverages on Singapore’s strengths in process development and clinical manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals as well as the country’s excellent capabilities in GMP manufacturing of bulk actives for global pharmaceutical companies. The joint venture will play a key role in supporting Singapore’s efforts to expand its Biomedical Sciences industry through attracting more biopharmaceuticals manufacturing activities.

“Bio*One Capital is very pleased to enter into this joint venture with Lonza to establish Singapore’s first commercial-scale biopharmaceuticals manufacturing facility. We are delighted to have found a partner in Lonza whose leading technological expertise and market presence make the perfect complement to our growing investment activities in biopharmaceuticals," said Ms Swee-Yeok Chu, CEO of Bio*One Capital.
“Our common goal now is to build a state-of-the-art facility and grow the joint venture in the medium term into the world’s premier supplier of biopharmaceuticals custom manufacturing solutions to pharmaceuticals and biotech companies globally,” she added.