Lonza Acquires Exosomics Service Unit and Codiak BioSciences Exosomes Manufacturing Facility

On Nov. 2, 2021, Lonza announced two acquisitions that will expand its exosomes development and manufacturing capabilities. The company will acquire the exosomes service unit from Exosomics, an extracellular vesicles biotech company, and a US-based exosomes manufacturing facility from Codiak BioSciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in exosome-based therapeutics.

Under the agreement with Exosomics, Lonza’s acquisition will include that company’s service team, service assets, and laboratories in Siena, Italy. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Lonza, a minority shareholder of Exosomics since 2017, will remain a shareholder after the acquisition closes.

With the Exosomics service unit acquisition, Lonza will gain access to expertise and capabilities in extracellular vesicle analytics and characterization. In addition to R&D, Lonza will expand the service offering from the Siena site to include a comprehensive suite of development and analytical services for exosomes.

"Lonza's acquisition reaffirms the recognition for Exosomics as a key player in Europe in the field of exosomes sciences. Exosomics will now focus on its original goal of pan-cancer screening and liquid biopsy applications in human diseases, still supported by Lonza as its most important industrial shareholder," said Antonio Chiesi, CEO, Exosomics, in a company press release.

Under the Codiak agreement, Lonza will acquire Codiak's Lexington, Mass., facility and become the strategic manufacturing partner for Codiak’s pipeline. Codiak will retain its pipeline of therapeutic candidates and its exosome engineering and drug-loading technologies. As part of the deal, Codiak will receive approximately $65 million of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) manufacturing services in kind. Lonza in turn will gain worldwide access and sub-licensable rights to Codiak's high-throughput perfusion-based CGMP process for exosome manufacturing.

The companies also intend to establish a Center of Excellence for the development of exosome manufacturing technologies, which will leverage both companies’ expertise in advancing exosome production, purification, and analytics.

"We are excited about the collaboration we have established with Codiak BioSciences. Exosomes are emerging as a new modality for advanced therapies and could become the next frontier in biotherapeutics. Our collaboration with Codiak, one of the most advanced companies in this modality, is consistent with our strategy to advance this technology and will drive the advancement of the whole industry. We are committed to providing our capabilities to Codiak, alongside other customers in the exosome space,” said Alberto Santagostino, senior vice-president, head of Cell and Gene Technologies, Lonza, in a company press release.

“Creating an exosome manufacturing Center of Excellence with Lonza … accelerates productivity of our manufacturing platform and facilitates realization of its full potential by leveraging Lonza capabilities. Importantly for Codiak, this collaboration solidifies our capacity for expanded late-stage clinical and eventually commercial manufacturing as we advance our growing clinical pipeline. We are proud Lonza recognized Codiak’s pioneering work in the manufacture of engineered exosomes and look forward to our Center of Excellence helping to set new standards for the field,” said Doug Williams, CEO, Codiak BioSciences, in the press release.

Source: Lonza for Exosomics acquisition and Codiak BioSciences acquisition