Lonza Group is a Swiss multinational, chemicals and biotechnology company, headquartered in Basel, with major facilities in Europe, 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 pharmaceutical and biologic industries, including organic, fine and performance chemicals, custom manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, chemical synthesis capabilities, detection systems and services for the bioscience sector.
History
Lonza was founded in 1897 in the small Swiss town of Gampel, situated in the canton of Valais, taking its name from the nearby river. Initially the company produced electricity used to manufacture chemicals such as calcium carbide. Lonza moved to neighbouring Visp in 1909 and began manufacturing synthetic fertilisers, and moves into vitamins, acids, intermediates and additives followed. In 1974, the group merged with aluminum firm Alusuisse, after which the group moved into the biotechnology sector. Lonza de-merged from the Alusuisse-Lonza Group in 1999 and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange. The company expanded in the United States in 1969 and acquired smaller biopharmaceutical units in recent years. In 1996, Lonza acquired Celltech Biologics and began producing mammalian cell cultures and monoclonal antibodies. In October 2011, Lonza acquired American firm Arch Chemicals for $1.4 billion, as a result becoming the world's largest manufacturer of biocides. On 15 August 2016, the group announced its intention to acquire InterHealth Nutraceuticals, a leader in research, development, manufacture and marketing of value-added nutritional ingredients for use in dietary supplements. The acquisition of the US based company will be done at a value of up to. In December 2016, the company announced it would acquire Capsugel for, from private equity firmKKR. Lonza is involved in the manufacturing of biologics 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 to manufacture therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. In 2014, Lonza entered into an agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb to manufacture two biologic drugs. Lonza also manufactures Imbruvica 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 partnered to construct a new facility for production of biologics.
, Lonza had twenty-four self-described major sites located in the United States, India, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain, China, France, South Africa, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Brazil and the United Kingdom. This site accounting shows significant changes from a 2016 self-description, which listed sixteen major sites. The presence in India was established in Genome Valley, where ground was broken in 2011. In 2018, Lonza opened a facility in the United States in Pearland, Texas. This is one of four sites which are focused on cell and gene therapy, the other three being in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Geleen, Netherlands; and Singapore. , the company has employed over 15,000 people, across about 35 countries. employment was noted as 14,500 across 120 sites.
