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Business

Lonza readies new investments

January 30, 2006 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 84, Issue 5

Custom pharmaceutical producer Lonza has outlined a series of projects for the coming year that will boost its biopharmaceutical business. The investments come as Lonza reports a 39% increase in 2005 operating income, thanks mainly to an improved custom manufacturing business. At the top of the project list, the company says, is a "significant" expansion of its biologics facility in Portsmouth, N.H. The firm will expand medium-scale capacity by installing new 5,000-L reactors starting in April. The initiative complements the company's existing 20,000-L reactors at the site, the fourth of which is scheduled to open midyear. Also in Portsmouth, Lonza is conducting basic design development for a vaccines plant. And in Visp, Switzerland, the company plans a third production line at its large-scale microbial plant and an accelerated timeline for start-up of an active pharmaceutical ingredients plant. According to the company, delivery of the additional projects will require preinvestments and one-time costs of about $24 million this year. In order to meet customer needs in all its business areas through 2008, Lonza will hire 500 new employees this year. Total investment for all its businesses will rise to more than $300 million.

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