Lonza, which is a prominent global contract development and manufacturing services provider – CDMO, on July 2, 2026, announced a major investment to broaden its highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredient – HPAPI and payload-linker manufacturing capacity at its site in Visp, Switzerland.
The initiative intends to boost the company’s existing drug-linker center of excellence and its ability to support the fast-expanding antibody-drug conjugate – ADC market. The increased commercial-scale manufacturing capacity for elaborate payload-linkers and HPAPIs supports the goal of Lonza to progressively enhance its position as one of the sector’s leading fully integrated manufacturing partners when it comes to ADC therapies.
The pharmaceutical sector is witnessing a growing demand when it comes to antibody-drug conjugates that combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies along with highly potent therapeutic agents in order to target cancer cells more efficiently. As these therapies have grown increasingly sophisticated, so have the payload-linking mechanisms used to construct them, frequently requiring advanced synthesis methods and specialized purification processes as well as stringent manufacturing control procedures.
This fast-evolving environment has led to a huge demand for manufacturing partners able to manage highly potent compounds with excellent quality and regulatory compliance.
Lonza will increase production capacity within an existing Good Manufacturing Practice – GMP facility at its Visp site to meet these industry standards. The project will develop a new commercial-scale manufacturing infrastructure for the manufacture and purification of payload linkers. The money invested will include specialized analytical laboratories and procedure development facilities to facilitate the optimization, testing, and scale-up of more complex molecules, in addition to growing manufacturing operations. These additions are anticipated to offer customers complete development and production services during the life cycle of the product.
A key characteristic of the new facility in the expansion is adaptability. It has been designed as a versatile manufacturing environment that is expected to be able to manufacture a wide range of payload-linker molecules. Its modular design also holds the possibility for future scale-out, allowing Lonza to add further manufacturing services as demand from consumers continues to grow. This approach gives the organization the flexibility to scale its manufacturing capabilities so as to meet evolving market needs, supporting both small-scale clinical programs as well as large-scale commercial production.
The enhanced payload-linker manufacturing features will be part of the wider ADC manufacturing ecosystem at Lonza in Visp. The site currently has a wealth of experience in monoclonal antibody manufacturing, conjugation-based processes, and pharmaceutical product manufacturing. These capacities are further enhanced by standard operations in Stein, Switzerland, building a complete and completely unified ADC development and manufacturing network. The expansion will also be supported by improved quality control infrastructure designed specifically for the handling of extremely potent payload-linker compounds to guarantee product quality and conformity with strict regulatory requirements.
The new production capacity is anticipated to be up and running by 2028. When complete, it will assist pharmaceutical companies creating new ADC therapies in clinical development as well as commercial production. Lonza’s integrated services are designed to simplify development routes, lower production complexity, and allow customers to speed up the distribution of novel targeted therapies to worldwide markets under one umbrella.
According to Head Advanced Synthesis at Lonza, Christian Seufert, the fast-growing ADC sector is creating an increasing demand for highly complex payload-linkers with specific manufacturing know-how, and this latest investment reinforces the ongoing commitment by Lonza to strengthening its integrated ADC capabilities and, at the same time, supporting customers developing next-generation therapeutics. The improved manufacturing infrastructure will allow customers to move more effectively from early-stage development to commercial production, thereby helping innovative, targeted treatments get to reach the patients faster.
This strategic expansion demonstrates Lonza’s ongoing dedication to the changing biopharmaceutical industry. The company is making investments in advanced manufacturing technologies, adaptable production infrastructure, and unified development capabilities in order to meet future industry demand while assisting pharmaceutical innovators to deliver highly targeted and possibly life-changing ADC therapies to the patients all over the world.