Lonza is expanding its commercial-scale aseptic drug product capacity in Switzerland to support growing demand for antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing.

Lonza is expanding its commercial-scale aseptic drug product capacity at its site in Stein, Switzerland, with the addition of a multi-purpose filling line for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

The new filling line is expected to be operational in 2030 and is supported by a long-term collaboration agreement with a major pharmaceutical company covering clinical and commercial ADC supply.

The investment is part of Lonza’s wider expansion of its integrated end-to-end ADC manufacturing capabilities, as demand for antibody-drug conjugates continues to grow.

The company said the new capacity will complement its dedicated commercial-scale aseptic ADC facility and large-scale multi-purpose aseptic drug product facility in Stein, both of which are currently under construction.

Lonza is also expanding the capabilities of its large-scale drug product facility to include high-value small molecule drug products. Operations at the expanded facility are now expected to start in 2028, with the company saying the additional capabilities will require a small additional capital investment.

Wolfgang Wienand, CEO, Lonza, said: “Supported by sustained business momentum across technologies and geographies, together with the structural improvements across our organization, we confirm our sales outlook and raise our CORE EBITDA margin commitment for the full year.”

The announcements came as Lonza reported strong first-half 2026 results, with sales from its continuing CDMO business reaching CHF 3.4 billion, representing 16% growth at constant exchange rates compared with the first half of 2025.

CORE EBITDA increased by 27.4% to CHF 1.2 billion, while the CORE EBITDA margin rose by 4.4 percentage points to 34.8%. Free cash flow also improved to CHF 0.4 billion, an increase of CHF 0.3 billion compared with the same period last year.

Lonza said demand remained strong across its technologies and geographies, with all three of its business platforms delivering double-digit sales growth at constant exchange rates.

Advanced Synthesis recorded the strongest growth, with sales increasing by 27.7% compared with the first half of 2025. The performance was driven by continued demand across Small Molecules and Bioconjugates, alongside increased asset utilisation, operational execution and portfolio mix.

The Advanced Synthesis business also reported a 6.8 percentage point improvement in its CORE EBITDA margin, which reached 48.1%.

Integrated Biologics delivered 10% sales growth at constant exchange rates, supported by growth projects and the base business. Lonza also expanded a strategic long-term collaboration with a leading US biopharmaceutical company for the manufacturing of a portfolio of clinical and commercial biologics across its US commercial-scale mammalian sites, supported by development and manufacturing activities in Europe.

Specialized Modalities returned to strong growth, with sales increasing by 22.6% at constant exchange rates. Lonza said Microbial experienced particularly strong growth, while Cell & Gene also showed improved operational performance towards the end of the first half.

The company has upgraded its full-year 2026 CORE EBITDA margin outlook to 33-34%, compared with its previous expectation of above 32%. Its forecast for constant exchange rate sales growth remains unchanged at 11-12%.

The latest ADC investment follows Lonza’s recent announcement of an expansion of payload-linker manufacturing capacity in Visp, Switzerland, designed to support the growing ADC market.

The company said its broader investment programme is intended to provide the capabilities and capacity required to deliver its future growth targets, while its One Lonza strategy continues to focus on its core CDMO activities.