Lonza & Chr. Hansen to become leading CDMO for microbiome-based drugs

Bioscience company Chr. Hansen and contract manufacturer Lonza have signed a joint venture in an aim to position themselves as the leading contract development and manufacturing partner (CDMO) in the industry.

The companies’ 50/50 joint venture will see them developing live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) in an effort to serve commercial demand surrounding the LBP market.  

An investment of €90 million will be shared between the two companies over a three-year period, being used to build pharma production capabilities and upgrade existing facilities. The companies will develop more facilities for commercial manufacturing as the pipeline matures with the investment following clearly defined targets.

The joint venture will be the first CDMO in the world to provide a full supply chain offering the manufacture of bacteria strains for therapeutic use.

It’s hoped that Chr. Hansen's expertise in developing bacteria strains and Lonza’s knowledge in formulation and drug delivery will help decrease development timelines.

A rapidly growing field, microbiome-based drugs have the potential to improve cancer therapies and could treat a range of other diseases.

"We need to think differently about how we develop solutions for manufacturing in the microbiome space as we see the potential of this therapeutic area develop,” said Marc Funk, CEO, Lonza Group. “By teaming up with Chr. Hansen, one of the world’s largest producers of bacteria, we are combining expertise that perfectly fits the very specific needs of aspirational companies in the microbiome space. Our customers will be able to draw on the unrivalled skillset of two world experts that master the exacting processes required for production of strict anaerobic microbes through to formulation and dosage forms. We understand the complexities of bringing pharmaceuticals to market, including the evolving regulatory environment and will offer unique development and pharma-grade manufacturing that addresses an unmet need in the industry, enabling customers to deliver therapies for patients.”

“The joint venture is a quantum leap for Chr. Hansen’s human microbiome lighthouse. It’s a great opportunity to utilise our microbial capabilities in the highly attractive LBP industry whilst sticking to our strategy of not becoming a fully-fledged pharma company. Chr. Hansen has more than 145 years of experience in strain development and manufacturing and we are really thrilled to join forces with a leading global company in the pharma CDMO market to become the partner of choice for end-to-end biotherapeutic solutions. The clinical trial supply industry is a rapidly emerging field, not to speak of the very large potential when the first bacteria-based medical products enter the commercial market,” said Mauricio Graber, CEO of Chr. Hansen.