Lonza to produce lupus drug Benlysta for GlaxoSmithKline/Human Genome Sciences

Human Genome Sciences has entered into an agreement with Switzerland-based chemical company Lonza for the future commercial supply of Benlysta (belimumab), which is currently under regulatory review in the USA and Europe as a potential new treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The drug is being developed by HGS and UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline under a co-development and commercialization agreement entered into in 2006.

'Our HGS large-scale manufacturing facility has ample capacity to provide worldwide supply of Benlysta following approval, and for the first two or three years following launch,' said Randy Maddux, vice president, manufacturing operations, HGS. 'However, we believe that we will eventually require additional capacity. After a careful review of proposals from a number of highly qualified commercial manufacturing organizations, we have selected Lonza, a leader in biologics manufacturing with a global network of large-scale production sites. We are confident that Lonza is the right choice to fill this critically important role,' he added.