science

Lonza Group

Lonza Group is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lonza Group rather than just read about it. In short: Lonza Group AG is a Swiss multinational manufacturing company for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and nutrition sectors, 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.

Key takeaways

Lonza Group belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lonza Group to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lonza Group from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lonza Group AG is a Swiss multinational manufacturing company for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and nutrition sectors, 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 custom manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and 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. In the course of the 20th century Lonza evolved from hydroelectricity and C2 chemistry, through nitrogen chemistry to petrochemistry before moving into fine chemistry and biochemistry. Initially, the company produced electricity. Lonza moved to neighbouring Visp (where it retains a production site today) in 1909. Competition from electric lighting reduced demand for calcium carbide and in 1915 Lonza started industrial production of calcium cyanamide which became popular as a cheap nitrogenous fertiliser, only to be supplanted by urea. In 1923, Lonza started to convert calcium carbide to metaldehyde (sold as a solid fuel under the brand 'Meta' and then slug repellant) via acetylene and acetaldehyde. In 1925, ammonia production was started, with a process licensed from Casale. With calcium cyanamide and calcium nitrate (made from nitric acid), Lonza commercialised formulated fertilisers starting in the 1930s. At the start of World War II, Lonza was contracted by the Swiss government to produce synthetic fuel, which it did by converting acetaldehyde to paraldehyde, used as an additive in transport fuel. 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 entered into cell and gene therapy with the acquisition of Houston-based Vivante GMP Solutions in 2010. In November 2019, Chairman Albert Baehny became both chairman and interim CEO of Lonza after chief executive officer (CEO) Marc Funk left after 9 months. In November 2020, Pierre-Alain Ruffieux commenced his role as Chief Executive Officer which ended at the end of September 2023, totaling 2 years and 11 months in the position of CEO. Chairman Albert Baehny became again, both chairman and interim CEO, as from October 2023. In May 2020, Moderna struck a manufacturing deal with Lonza to produce its (mRNA-1273) COVID-19 vaccine active ingredient while expanding sterile production and fill-finish activities to 500 million doses starting in 2021. Production of the mRNA bulk vaccine started in January 2021, soon after an official visit by Swiss Federal Councilor Alain Berset. Lonza Group was responsible for the global production of two-thirds of the raw materials for the Moderna vaccine at combined U.S. and Swiss facilities. In May 2024, Jean-Marc Huët was elected Chairman following the retirement of Albert Baehny, who had held the position of Chairman and interim CEO. In July 2024, Wolfgang Wienand commenced his role as CEO of Lonza.

Business operations As of 2023, Lonza had over thirty development and manufacturing sites located in countries including Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, France, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, India, China and Singapore. The presence in India was established in Genome Valley, where ground was broken in 2011. In 2018, Lonza opened a 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) facility focused on cell and gene therapy in the United States in Pearland, Texas (a suburb of Houston). In 2023, Lonza Group acquired Synaffix to strengthen its antibody-drug conjugate capacity. In October 2024, the company completed the acquisition of the Genentech biologics manufacturing site in Vacaville, California, from Roche. As of 2023, the company employed approximately 18,000 people across more than 30 locations. In 2024, Lonza announced plans to streamline its operations by exiting the capsules and health ingredients sector. The decision follows a decrease in demand for pharmaceutical supplies after the COVID-19 pandemic. While the shift is expected to result in non-cash write-downs, analysts believe it will enhance Lonza’s growth prospects and financial stability. The divestment process, targeting a segment responsible for 17% of the company’s 2023 revenue, will begin this year. Lonza intends to focus on its core business as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). Notably, the company is the global leader in producing monoclonal antibodies, a key technology behind new Alzheimer’s treatments. Bernstein analyst Justin Smith praised the move as a step toward “operational simplification,” highlighting Lonza’s new business focus on three platforms: integrated biologics, advanced synthesis, and specialized modalities.

References

External links Media related to Lonza Group at Wikimedia Commons

Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lonza Group

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lonza Group claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lonza Group before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lonza Group ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lonza Group

In research: Lonza Group appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lonza Group in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lonza Group is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1897 establishments in Switzerland, Biotechnology companies of Switzerland, Companies in the Swiss Market Index, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lonza Group outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lonza Group in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lonza Group means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lonza Group out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lonza Group in simple terms?

Why does Lonza Group matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lonza Group?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lonza Group.