Sanofi, Lonza form monoclonal antibody production partnership

Sanofi announced Monday a partnership with Lonza to build and operate a large-scale mammalian cell culture facility for monoclonal antibody production, with an initial investment of around 290 million Swiss francs ($288 million) split equally between the companies. The plant, which will be in Visp, Switzerland, is expected to be fully operational by 2020.

Philippe Luscan, executive vice president of global industrial affairs at Sanofi, noted that "approximately 60 percent of our pipeline is made up of biologics, including monoclonal antibodies, dedicated to key disease areas such as cardiovascular, immunology and inflammation, neurology and oncology."

The companies noted that the agreement, which is in the form of a joint venture, combines the "strong biologics development pipeline of Sanofi with the expertise of Lonza." As part of the deal, Sanofi will have additional access to bio-manufacturing capacity to support increasing demands for its portfolio of biologic therapeutic products.