Lonza to buy Merck KGaA's US CDMO business

· Health · Germany · Switzerland

Merck KGaA is selling its US contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business to Lonza, with the deal covering five manufacturing facilities and about 1,100 employees. The two companies kept the finer financial details of the pact under wraps. The transaction shifts a sizeable block of US biologics manufacturing capacity into Lonza, the Swiss contract manufacturer that has been expanding its global network. For pharma clients, the change of owner at five sites could affect existing manufacturing agreements. The move also reflects a broader reshuffling of CDMO assets as drugmakers trim non-core manufacturing and specialist contractors scale up in the US.

Why it matters：Consolidation of CDMO capacity changes who controls US biologics manufacturing and could reshape manufacturing contracts for drugmakers that rely on outsourced production.

Key points

  • The deal covers five US manufacturing facilities and roughly 1,100 employees.
  • Financial terms were not fully disclosed.
  • Separately, the FDA gave tentative approval to Dr. Reddy's for a generic version of an HIV prevention medicine.

Sources (original reporting)

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