Lonza will expand its highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing capacity at its Visp site in Switzerland to support growing demand for antibody-drug conjugate payload-linkers.

The investment will strengthen the company’s integrated antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing capabilities by adding commercial-scale production capacity for highly potent payload-linker molecules.

The expansion will enhance Lonza’s payload-linker centre of excellence by adding manufacturing capacity within an existing GMP facility, alongside analytical and process development laboratories.

The multipurpose facility has been designed to manufacture a range of payload-linker molecules and can be expanded further if customer demand increases.

Payload-linkers are a critical component of antibody-drug conjugates, connecting monoclonal antibodies to highly potent cancer medicines. Increasingly complex antibody-drug conjugates have driven demand for specialist manufacturing capabilities capable of producing these highly potent molecules.

The new capacity will be integrated with Lonza’s wider antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing network in Visp and Stein, which includes monoclonal antibody production, conjugation, drug product manufacturing and quality control for highly potent compounds.

The company expects the expanded facility to become operational in 2028, supporting both clinical and commercial manufacturing programmes.

Christian Seufert, head of advanced synthesis at Lonza, said: “The rapid growth of the ADC market is driving increasing demand for highly complex payload-linkers that require advanced manufacturing capabilities.

“Lonza remains committed to investing and further developing its integrated ADC offering.”

He added: “This investment reflects that commitment by expanding our capacity to support this next generation of therapies and enabling our customers to progress efficiently from development to commercial supply, ultimately helping bring targeted, potentially life-changing treatments to patients.”

According to Lonza, the expansion will increase its ability to manufacture payload-linkers used in antibody-drug conjugates, one of the fastest-growing areas of oncology drug development.

The additional capacity is intended to support customers developing targeted cancer therapies requiring highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients and specialised manufacturing expertise.