Area Development
Lonza, a global leader in the field of viral and cell therapy manufacturing, intends to construct a large biotech facility for viral and immunotherapy development and manufacturing in the Lower Kirby District in Pearland, Texas.

The state-of-the-art facility will house office space, process development, and quality control laboratories and a fully segregated fill/finish suite, allowing Lonza to more than double its current capacity for the production of viral gene and virally-modified therapeutics.

The planned facility will also contain independent modular cleanrooms for up to 2,000 L-scale production in single-use bioreactors, along with cleanrooms designed to meet the requirements for the manufacture of cell therapy products for use in European markets. The facility will be located on an 11-acre site on Kirby Drive and will initially be home to over 50 employees with expected growth beyond that to include administrative, manufacturing, process development and quality assurance personnel.

“Lonza Houston is thrilled to have received Pearland’s approval to relocate and expand our manufacturing capabilities to the City of Pearland. The expansion will allow us to address the growing need for cell and gene therapy manufacturing capacity to help find treatments and potential cures for different disease indications. Pearland’s proximity to the Texas Medical Center and the continued growth of Pearland is appealing to Lonza.” said Ricardo Jimenez, Lonza Houston’s Site Director.

Pearland Mayor Tom Reid said, “It has been a long-standing goal of the City to cultivate a broad spectrum of medical and life science related organizations in our community; Lonza’s interest in Pearland is a testament to our efforts and willingness to work with businesses interested in investing in our city.”