World’s Largest Cell and Gene Therapy Facility
The world’s largest dedicated cell and gene therapy facility will be opened by Lonza as a response to the rising demand from developers of cell and gene therapies. The facility aims to enable developers deliver these types of treatments to patients around the world more quickly and efficiently. The grand opening ceremony will take place in Pearland, Texas, where Lonza executives and industry leaders will unveil the 300,000 sq ft facility and its offerings. The facility offers a state of the art, fully integrated, everything under one roof access to some of the worldâs most innovative cell and gene therapy manufacturing technologies.“Lonza Houston will serve as a centre of excellence for cell-and-gene-therapy process development from concept through preclinical, clinical and commercialization, all the way to the patient,” said Andreas Weiler, Business Unit head for Emerging Technologies at Lonza Pharma & Biotech. “This facility has the potential to produce treatment for thousands of patients suffering from rare genetic disorders or life-threatening diseases, under one roof. It will set a new standard in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and stand as one of four centres of excellence in cell and gene therapy in the only global network spanning three continents.” At the moment, the Lonza Houston Centre of Excellence is operational and manufacturing for several customers, while recruiting employees. By the end of the year, it will have more than 200 full time staff including scientists, engineers, MBAs and biotechnology professionals. “Outstanding teams of top experts from around the world are gathered here and are empowered to elaborate on innovative concepts, develop and optimize complex processes, and seamlessly deliver cell and gene therapies that adhere to the industryâs current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) standards, said Andreas. The site is well positioned to meet the demands of the growing cell-and-gene-therapy field. Combining this leading-edge facility with our unmatched experience and expertise in cell and gene therapy will allow us to provide a key advantage to biopharmaceutical companies and academic researchers and ultimately to the patients they serve, concluded Marc Funk, Lonza Pharma and Biotech Chief Operating Officer. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
