Swiss Lonza agrees to acquire Roche for $1.2b

Lonza, a Swiss contract drug manufacturer, has agreed to acquire the Genentech manufacturing facility in Vacaville, California from Roche for $1.2 billion in cash, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The Swiss company plans to invest approximately 500 million Swiss francs ($562.3 million) to upgrade the facility and expand its capabilities for the next generation of mammalian biologics therapies.

The Vacaville facility currently has a bioreactor capacity of around 330,000 litres, making it one of the largest biologics manufacturing sites globally.

Lonza’s President of Biologics, Jean-Christophe Hyvert stated that the acquisition would provide immediate capacity for customers and drive future growth for the Biologics division.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, pending customary closing conditions. Lonza has also revised its 2024-2028 sales target to a compound annual growth rate of 12-15 per cent.

As part of the deal, approximately 750 Genentech employees at the facility will be offered employment by Lonza, and Lonza will continue to supply the products currently produced at the site by Roche during a transition period.

Roche’s global head of pharma technical operations, Susanne Hundsbaek-Pedersen noted that the sale is part of a long-term network strategy to optimise the portfolio and introduce new drug modalities.

(1 Us dollar = 0.89 Swiss franc)