Lonza expanding NH biologics plant

CDMO Lonza is adding further manufacturing and parking capabilities at its Portsmouth, New Hampshire site.

Contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza is constructing additional production and parking space on one of the unoccupied parcels at its Pease International Tradeport home in Portsmouth.

A spokesperson for Lonza confirmed the expansion but told BioProcess Insider “many aspects of the project remain confidential, and we cannot comment any further on the plans beyond the publicly available information.”

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The Pease Development Authority board of directors authorized a revised concept plan submitted by Lonza to decrease the height of one of its proposed new buildings from three stories to one. In total, there will be three new buildings, which amounts to approximately one million square feet.

New Hampshire Business Finance Authority said the project is a lease program, which has merged “an existing location at Pease with nearby property to create a 43-acre parcel for Lonza’s campus to expand. The total proposed industrial development will include three new buildings totaling approximately 1 million square feet. To make this project a reality, the Pease Development Authority borrowed up to $5 million from the BFA for Lonza to use for onsite improvements.”

The Lonza spokesperson told us that this expansion is not related to the plans it announced in May 2021, to add capacity for eight 2,000 L single-use bioreactors over an area of 3,000 square feet.

The New Hampshire site first opened in 1999 and has since undergone various expansions. In May 2018, Lonza expanded its cell therapy capabilities at the plant on the back of growing demand. The expansion included mid-scale mammalian capacity through the installation of several 6,000 L bioreactors which will eventually replace stainless steel 5,000 L systems operating at the site.

In May 2020, Moderna contracted Lonza to produce batches of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273 from its site in New Hampshire. To meet demand, the CDMO made use of its existing suites and said in November 2018 it would scale-up further if Moderna asks.