Isophoric News · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Lonza agrees to buy five U.S. drug manufacturing sites and about 1,100 workers from Merck KGaA
Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza said Tuesday it signed an agreement to buy five U.S. contract development and manufacturing sites from Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, at an enterprise value in the low to mid hundreds of millions of Swiss francs. About 1,100 employees would join Lonza, raising its U.S. sites from four to nine and its U.S. workforce above 6,000, the company said. Lonza expects the deal to close in mid-2027. Lonza said the sites make bioconjugates, including antibody drug conjugates, payload linkers, viral vectors for cell and gene therapies, and lipid nanoparticle and liposome products, and are expected to bring about 250 million Swiss francs in 2028 sales at a margin below Lonza's own. Merck KGaA chief executive Kai Beckmann said in the release that a more concentrated life science portfolio would let the company focus its investment. Seeking Alpha reported the sale as Merck KGaA's exit from U.S. contract manufacturing.
