Lonza Biologics says it plans to add 32,300 square feet of additional manufacturing space and 250 new jobs to its plant at the Pease International Tradeport.

The company announced expansion plans for both its Portsmouth facility and its plant in Visp, Switzerland, in response to what it said is a growth in the biologics market, particularly as the world has focused attention on a Covid-19 vaccine that Lonza is manufacturing.

The new jobs created will include manufacturing associates, engineers, scientists, quality control analysts, and warehouse and logistics personnel.

Lonza’s Portsmouth facility has committed to manufacturing 100 million doses a year of the active ingredient used in the Moderna vaccine. It started large-scale production of the vaccine in September 2020.

Lonza, which currently employs some 1,200 people in Portsmouth, has grown in size since coming here in 1996. In January 2019, the city approved an expansion proposal of 132,000 square feet involving the merger of two lots at 70 and 80 Corporate Drive with Lonza’s existing facility at 101 International Drive. The most recent project announced by the company is not part of that previously approved expansion.