Lonza launches Singapore lab to optimize media development, reduce scale-up risks, accelerate timelines, and enable seamless transition to GMP manufacturing.
Lonza AG, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, has announced the establishment of a new Media Development Laboratory at its Singapore facility, marking a strategic step toward strengthening its bioprocessing capabilities. As one of the leading contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) globally, Lonza aims to enhance its service offerings by helping customers refine media formulations and transition more efficiently into Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production. This initiative is particularly significant in an industry where accelerating development timelines and increasing process complexity have made late-stage modifications both costly and risky.
The newly launched laboratory is designed to address persistent gaps in the industry, especially the lack of structured approaches to media optimization and the disconnect that often exists between early development stages and large-scale manufacturing. Many biopharmaceutical companies face challenges when scaling up processes, largely due to insufficient alignment between laboratory research and production requirements. Lonza’s solution introduces a more systematic and proactive framework that emphasizes early-stage optimization while keeping scalability and manufacturability at the forefront.
A key feature of the Media Development Lab is its use of Design of Experiments (DoE), a scientific methodology that enables simultaneous evaluation of multiple variables. This approach allows researchers to efficiently identify critical factors influencing process performance, thereby reducing the need for repeated trials and minimizing development time. By integrating this methodology, Lonza ensures that customers can achieve more reliable and data-driven outcomes, ultimately accelerating their path to commercialization.
Additionally, the lab provides access to Lonza’s extensive proprietary libraries of media and feed formulations. These resources, combined with the company’s deep expertise in manufacturing processes, enable the identification of robust and scalable solutions early in the development cycle. The outputs generated are structured and comprehensive, offering clear insights into performance ranges and process stability. This not only improves decision-making but also enhances confidence in the scalability of selected formulations.
Michael Goetter, Head of Bioscience for Specialized Modalities at Lonza, emphasized the company’s commitment to reducing early-stage risks for its clients. He highlighted that the new facility plays a crucial role in helping customers choose media formulations that are not only effective at the laboratory level but also practical and dependable in full-scale manufacturing environments. By bridging the gap between development and production, the lab creates a seamless pathway from non-GMP to GMP manufacturing.
Overall, the launch of this Media Development Lab underscores Lonza’s dedication to innovation and customer support in the bioprocessing sector. By focusing on early optimization, scalability, and manufacturability, the company aims to improve efficiency, reduce risks, and ensure long-term supply readiness for its global clientele.
