Swiss CDMO Lonza is extending the Chinese New Year break at
its four plants in China, but not to celebrate. The unplanned extension
is a precaution as coronavirus continues to spread rapidly through the
country.
The company is also imposing restrictions
on travel to, from and within the country and requiring a two-week
in-home quarantine on employees traveling from China to make sure there
is no spread of the virus.
“As a responsible employer, we have taken measures to
protect our employees and any third parties visiting our sites in
China,” Lonza said.
Lonza said today it has halted operations at a drug
formulation and pyromellitic dianhydride production plant in Nanjing,
Jiangsu; a plant in Nansha, Guangdong that makes small molecule APIs and
niacin; a plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu that makes drug capsules and
microbial control solutions; and its biologics plant Guangzhou,
Guangdong that is under construction so not operational.
It has no production facilities in the Hubei Province where
the outbreak was first discovered, it said but is taking the steps as a
precaution. It said most of the plants have decided to extend the
holiday into this week as authorities monitor the outbreak.
The extended closure so far has resulted in only limited
disruption of supplies, the CDMO said, but it is “assessing the impact”
of potential delays to raw materials and finished products as the
outbreak’s effects continue.
Lonza’s announcement follows that of Chinese CDMO WuXi
Biologics which last week assured clients and the public that the spread
of the virus would not affect its drug production schedule. As of a
week ago, it said it is “working vigilantly to execute our Business
Continuity Plan to mitigate any potential risk” and to ensure its
products are unaffected by the outbreak.
Big Pharma players like Pfizer and Roche say they are not
exclusively dependent on any supplies from China but there are some
areas of concern for U.S. patients. China manufactures an estimated 97%
of the country’s antibiotics and many of the APIs used by drugmakers.
While no serious supply issues have surfaced, the virus continues to
spread and seems to be picking up momentum according to Chinese
statistics.
The China National Health Commission reported that through
yesterday, confirmed cases have grown more than 3,000 to 20,438 and that
there were another 64 deaths, bringing the fatality number to 425.
The infections also are growing globally as countries take
measures to try to shield themselves. The U.S., Australia, Singapore,
New Zealand and Vietnam are not allowing non-residents who have been to
China recently to enter their countries. The U.S. has seen nearly a
dozen confirmed cases and reported its first person-to-person
transmission inside the country.
