ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire the Genentech manufacturing facility in Vacaville, California, from drugmaker Roche for $1.2 billion in cash.

Lonza plans to invest around 500 million Swiss francs ($562.30 million) to upgrade the facility and enhance capabilities at the site to accommodate the next generation of mammalian biologics therapies, the company said in a statement.

"The Vacaville site is a highly valuable strategic acquisition that will make capacity immediately available for our customers and unlock future growth for our Biologics division," Jean-Christophe Hyvert, president of Biologics at Lonza, said in the statement.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

Basel-based Lonza also said it had updated its 2024-2028 guidance to a sales growth range of 12-15% compound annual growth rate compared with a 11-13% estimate previously.

The Vacaville facility currently has a total bioreactor capacity of around 330,000 liters, making it one of the largest biologics manufacturing sites worldwide by volume, Lonza said.