Lonza, a Swiss manufacturer of capsules and other health and biotech ingredients, announced that it has invested 85 million CHF ($93 million USD) into its Capsules and Health Ingredients division, in order to significantly increase its softgel production capacity across eight global facilities.
 
The investment will allow Lonza to expand its overall production capacity within the company’s Capsugel portfolio by 30 billion capsules annually, while maintaining the quality standards associated with Lonza’s Sigma series. Production capacity will be increased across its network of manufacturing and supply chain facilities in Belgium, France, the U.S., India, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan, and China. This represents a 15% increase in total capsule production capacity.
 
“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,” Claude Dartiguelongue, president of Capsules and Health Ingredients at Lonza said. “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.”
 
“Dosage form technologies have evolved rapidly over the past ten years. As the leader in the industry, we are committed to innovation and helping our customers successfully deliver next-generation drugs and nutritional supplements,” Stef Vanquickenborne, head of Lonza’s Capsules and Health Ingredients Research and Development, said.
 
This commitment follows a similar one in 2019, which was initiated to increase Lonza’s capacity by 10 billion capsules annually. The additional manufacturing capacity will address the high growth across the company’s gelatin, vegetarian, and specialty polymers portfolio, as well as the liquid-filled hard capsules sold under the Licaps brand.
 
Increased demand for capsules is present in both the pharmaceutical and dietary supplement markets, as more patients seek out preventative treatments and more consumers wish to support healthier lifestyles, the company said. The expansion is anticipated to allow ample supply in both the near future and long term, and underlines the strategic position of capsules within the broader nutrition industry. It will also support the production of new dosage technologies, such as lipid multi particulates and several new time-release functional capsules.