Lonza Completes Acquisition of Large-Scale Biologics Site in Vacaville (US) From Roche​ 

Lonza recently announced it has completed its acquisition of the Genentech large-scale biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, CA, from Roche for $1.2 billion.

The Vacaville facility significantly extends Lonza’s capacity for mammalian manufacturing in the US, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. It creates a significant West Coast commercial manufacturing presence close to San Francisco’s pharma and biotech hub, complementing Lonza’s existing East Coast manufacturing site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as its international network across Europe and Asia Pacific.

Genentech Vacaville
Video Copyright Noah Berger/2022

With a total bioreactor capacity of around 330,000 liters, the Vacaville site is one of the largest biologics manufacturing facilities in the world. This acquisition significantly extends manufacturing capacity for late-stage clinical and commercial products, and new molecules on the path to commercialization within the Lonza network. The site joins the Mammalian business unit within Lonza’s Biologics division, with more than 750 Vacaville colleagues now being employed directly by Lonza.

Wolfgang Wienand, CEO, Lonza, said “The successful acquisition of the Vacaville site marks a major milestone for Lonza, and for our commitment to deliver long-term value for our customers and shareholders. As the Vacaville site joins our Biologics division, we look forward to bringing new customer projects into the facility to meet sustained demand for commercial biologics manufacturing across our business. I am also delighted to welcome more than 750 highly skilled Vacaville colleagues into our global team, as they begin a new chapter with Lonza.”

The acquisition of the large-scale mammalian manufacturing site complements Lonza’s ongoing investments in large-scale bioconjugation in Visp (CH) and drug product manufacturing in Stein (CH), supporting its ability to meet demand for the large-scale, end-to-end manufacturing of complex biologics. Lonza plans to invest approximately CHF 500 million to further upgrade the facility and add capabilities to meet demand for the next generation of mammalian biologics therapies.

The products previously manufactured at the site will now be supplied by Lonza to Roche with committed minimum volumes over the medium term, phasing out over time as the site transitions to serve alternative customers.

Lonza is one of the world’s largest healthcare manufacturing organizations. Working across five continents, our global community of around 18,000 colleagues helps pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition companies to bring their treatments to market. United by our vision to bring any therapy to life, we support our customers with a combination of technological insight, world-class manufacturing, scientific expertise, process excellence and innovation. Our work enables our customers to develop and commercialize their therapeutic discoveries, allowing their patients to benefit from life-saving and life-enhancing treatments.

Our business is structured to meet our customers’ complex needs across four divisions: Biologics, Small Molecules, Cell & Gene, and Capsules & Health Ingredients. Our company generated sales of CHF 3.1 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 893 million in Half-Year 2024. Find out more at www.lonza.com.