Lonza Group AG is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

multinational manufacturing company for the

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

and

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

sectors, headquartered in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, with major facilities in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, North America and South Asia. Lonza was established under that name in the late 19th-century in Switzerland. The company provides product development services to the

and biologic industries, including custom manufacturing of

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

s and detection systems and services for the

bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–1 ...

sector.

History

Lonza was founded in 1897 in the small Swiss town of Gampel, situated in the canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

, taking its name from the nearby

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

. In the course of the 20th century Lonza evolved from hydroelectricity and C2 chemistry, through nitrogen chemistry to petrochemistry before moving into fine chemistry and biochemistry. Initially, the company produced electricity. Lonza moved to neighbouring

Visp Visp (; ; ) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of this a ...

(where it retains a production site today) in 1909. Competition from electric lighting reduced demand for calcium carbide and in 1915 Lonza started industrial production of

calcium cyanamide Calcium cyanamide, also known as Calcium carbondiamide, Calcium cyan-2°-amide or Calcium cyanonitride is the inorganic compound with the formula CaCN2. It is the calcium salt of the cyanamide () anion. This chemical is used as fertilizer and is c ...

which became popular as a cheap nitrogenous

fertiliser A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrition, plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from Liming (soil), liming materials or other non- ...

, only to be supplanted by urea. In 1923, Lonza started to convert calcium carbide to

metaldehyde Metaldehyde is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula (). It is used as a pesticide against slugs and snails. It is the cyclic tetramer of acetaldehyde. Production and properties Metaldehyde is flammable, toxic if ingested in large ...

(sold as a solid fuel under the brand 'Meta' and then slug repellant) via acetylene and acetaldehyde. In 1925,

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

production was started, with a process licensed from Casale. With calcium cyanamide and

calcium nitrate Calcium nitrate are inorganic compounds with the formula Ca(NO3)2(H2O)x. The anhydrous compound, which is rarely encountered, absorbs moisture from the air to give the tetrahydrate. Both anhydrous and hydrated forms are colourless salts. Hydrated ...

(made from nitric acid), Lonza commercialised formulated fertilisers starting in the 1930s. At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Lonza was contracted by the Swiss government to produce synthetic fuel, which it did by converting acetaldehyde to

paraldehyde Paraldehyde is the cyclic trimer (chemistry), trimer of acetaldehyde molecules. Formally, it is a derivative of 1,3,5-trioxane, with a methyl group substituted for a hydrogen atom at each carbon. The corresponding tetramer is metaldehyde. A colo ...

, used as an additive in transport fuel. Lonza is involved in the manufacturing of

biologics A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, th ...

with several pharmaceutical companies. Lonza entered into a partnership with Teva in 2009 to develop and manufacture biosimilars. In 2010, they made a deal with

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

to manufacture therapeutic

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a Lineage (evolution), cell lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Mon ...

. In 2014, Lonza entered into an agreement with

Bristol-Myers Squibb The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consist ...

to manufacture two biologic drugs. Lonza also manufactures

Imbruvica Ibrutinib, sold under the brand name Imbruvica among others, is a small molecule drug that inhibits B-cell proliferation and survival by irreversibly binding the protein Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). Blocking BTK inhibits the B-cell receptor ...

for Pharmacyclics and Mydicar for Celladon. In 2015, Lonza contracted with Alexion to construct a new facility dedicated to Alexion manufacturing. In 2017, Lonza and

Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 200 ...

partnered to construct a new facility for production of biologics. Lonza entered into cell and gene therapy with the acquisition of Houston-based Vivante GMP Solutions in 2010. In November 2019,

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Albert Baehny became both chairman and interim

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Lonza after

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) Marc Funk left after 9 months. In November 2020, Pierre-Alain Ruffieux commenced his role as Chief Executive Officer which ended at the end of September 2023, totaling 2 years and 11 months in the position of CEO.

Albert Baehny became again, both chairman and interim

, as from October 2023. In May 2020,

Moderna Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to carry inst ...

struck a manufacturing deal with Lonza to produce its (mRNA-1273)

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

active ingredient while expanding sterile production and fill-finish activities to 500 million doses starting in 2021. Production of the mRNA bulk vaccine started in January 2021, soon after an official visit by Swiss Federal Councilor

Alain Berset Alain Berset (; born 9 April 1972) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2012 to 2023. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs from when he too ...

. Lonza Group was responsible for the global production of two-thirds of the raw materials for the Moderna vaccine at combined U.S. and Swiss facilities. In May 2024, Jean-Marc Huët was elected Chairman following the retirement of Albert Baehny, who had held the position of Chairman and interim CEO. In July 2024, Wolfgang Wienand commenced his role as CEO of Lonza.

Business operations

, Lonza had over thirty development and manufacturing sites located in countries including Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, France, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, India, China and Singapore. The presence in India was established in Genome Valley, where ground was broken in 2011. In 2018, Lonza opened a facility focused on cell and gene therapy in the United States in

Pearland, Texas Pearland ( ) is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend and Harris County, Texas, Harris counties, in Texas, United States. The city of Pearland is a principal city wit ...

(a suburb of Houston). In October 2024, the company completed the acquisition of the

Genentech Genentech, Inc. is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It operates as an independent subsidiary of holding company Roche. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent cent ...

biologics manufacturing site in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California, United States. It is located from Sacramento, California, Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in ...

, from Roche. , the company employed approximately 18,000 people across more than 30 locations. In 2024, Lonza announced plans to streamline its operations by exiting the capsules and health ingredients sector. The decision follows a decrease in demand for pharmaceutical supplies after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. While the shift is expected to result in non-cash write-downs, analysts believe it will enhance Lonza’s growth prospects and financial stability. The divestment process, targeting a segment responsible for 17% of the company’s 2023 revenue, will begin this year. Lonza intends to focus on its core business as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). Notably, the company is the global leader in producing monoclonal antibodies, a key technology behind new Alzheimer’s treatments. Bernstein analyst Justin Smith praised the move as a step toward “operational simplification,” highlighting Lonza’s new business focus on three platforms: integrated biologics, advanced synthesis, and specialized modalities.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Biotechnology companies of Switzerland Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Cross-listed companies Manufacturing companies based in Basel Manufacturing companies established in 1897 Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland Pharmaceutical companies established in 1897 1897 establishments in Switzerland Companies in the Swiss Market Index Contract development and manufacturing organizations