Lonza to buy US biologics site from Roche for US$1.2 billion

SWISS contract drug manufacturer Lonza said on Wednesday (Mar 20) it signed an agreement to acquire the Genentech manufacturing facility in Vacaville, California, from drugmaker Roche for US$1.2 billion in cash.

Lonza plans to invest around 500 million Swiss francs (US$754.8 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 facility currently has a total bioreactor capacity of around 330,000 litres, making it one of the largest biologics manufacturing sites worldwide by volume, Lonza said.

“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 raised its 2024 to 2028 sales target to a range of 12 to 15 per cent compound annual growth rate, from its 11 to 13 per cent growth estimate previously.

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Under the deal, the about 750 Genentech employees at the facility will be offered employment by Lonza, and the products currently produced at the site by Roche will continue to be supplied by Lonza for a transition period, Roche said.

Susanne Hundsbaek-Pedersen, global head of pharma technical operations at Roche, said the sale of the facility was part of a long-term network strategy and optimisation plan, to deliver a “more diversified portfolio including new drug modalities”. REUTERS