Lonza has established the Lonza Collaborative Innovation Center (CIC) in a new life-science park near Haifa, Israel.

The CIC will begin operating in the fourth quarter of 2017 and span close to 1,000 square-meters. Lonza is expected to hire 15-20 staff members in 2018 with knowledge in the areas of engineering, software, and cell/molecular biology.

The CIC will have a dedicated Lonza research and technology team in Israel, who will work with local industry and academic experts through collaborations and sponsored research. Lonza has signed memorandums of understanding and conducted talent scouting at Tel Aviv University, Technion R&D Foundation, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Eytan Abraham, research and development associate director at Lonza, will take responsibility for setting up the center. Roee Atlas, director of business and technology development, The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev Ltd., has been recently hired to manage the center.

Source: Lonza