Lonza confirms that it has “expressed a strong in interest” for a possible acquisition of Capsugel, a company that designs, develops, and manufactures dosage forms, according to a December 12, 2016 company statement. Lonza issued the statement in response to recent press speculations that it is in final negotiations with the private-equity firm, KKR, regarding the potential acquisition of Capsugel. KKR acquired Capsugel from Pfizer in 2011 for $2.375 billion.

Lonza said that “a successful acquisition would be value adding and be within Lonza’s stated acquisition criteria,” but emphasized that “there can be no certainty as to the outcome of the discussions or whether an acquisition will be completed,” according to the company statement.

Lonza, a contract manufacturer of small- and large-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients, recently added drug-product development and related capabilities. In November 2016, the company opened its pharmaceutical drug product services laboratories in the in Basel, Switzerland. Scientists in a new 1,300-square-meter facility that will focus initially on formulation development, drug product analytical development, and quality control. Lonza first announced plans to expand its pharmaceutical and biotechnology segment by offering development and manufacturing services for clinical outsourcing of drug products in February 2016. At the time of the February announcement, Lonza said that these drug product services will focus on parenteral dosage forms, including products for injection and infusion for intravenous, subcutaneous, intraocular and other routes of parenteral administration. Services will include options for monoclonal antibodies, other biologics, drug conjugates, peptides and small molecules that require a parenteral dosage form.

Source: Lonza