Room To Grow: Exploring The Capabilities Of 15,000L Microbial Manufacturing

Scaling microbial processes requires more than production capacity; it demands technical precision, flexibility, and careful management of challenges that can emerge during scale-up. Lonza’s 15,000 L microbial fermentation facility in Visp, Switzerland, is designed to support high-demand production, combining high-cell-density fermentation capabilities with large-scale recovery and purification infrastructure for complex biologic molecules.

This brochure explores the facility’s technical capabilities, including 50,000 L primary recovery tanks, 2 m-wide chromatography columns, and high-capacity centrifugation. Particular attention is given to lysate clarification and filtration, where scale-up challenges can affect process performance. A dedicated pilot laboratory replicates large-scale conditions, helping teams investigate process behavior before moving into larger production environments. The brochure also presents four multi-product manufacturing plants ranging from 70 L to 15,000 L, illustrating the range of available production scales and the potential to reduce technology transfer between development and manufacturing.

Explore the facility’s infrastructure, equipment, and integrated approach to understand how scale flexibility and process expertise can support complex microbial manufacturing programs from pilot operations through large-scale production.