Lonza investment to expand capsule manufacturing by 15%

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Lonza (Basel, Switzerland) announced a CHF85 million (93 million USD) investment in its Capsules and Health Ingredients (CHI) Division, a dosage-form delivery partner, which will allow the company to expand its overall production capacity of capsules within CHI's Capsugel portfolio by 30 billion capsules annually; a 15% increase. Production capacity will be increased across Lonza's global manufacturing and supply-chain network.

"We continue to see strong demand for our products across all markets, as consumers and patients alike take a more active interest in their health,” said Claude Dartiguelongue, president Capsules & Health Ingredients, Lonza, in a press release. “Therefore, we felt it is critical that we make this commitment to expand the manufacturing capacity of our network, not only addressing supply needs in the near term but also supply availability over the long term."

This investment will be made over two fiscal years, 2020 and 2021, across eight global Lonza manufacturing sites. Additionally, the expansion will also support production as CHI also introduces new dosage technologies such as Lipid Multi Particulates (LMP) and several new time-release functional capsule solutions.

"Dosage form technologies have evolved rapidly over the past 10 years,” said Stef Vanquickenborne, head of Capsules & Health Ingredients research and development, Lonza, in a press release. “As the leader in the industry, we are committed to innovation and helping our customers successfully deliver next-generation drugs and nutritional supplements."