Lonza Boosts Micronization Capacity with Acquisition

On August 4, 2017, Lonza announced that it acquired Micro-Macinazione (Switzerland), a contract manufacturer providing micronization of active ingredients for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries, from Cross Equity, a Swiss private equity firm. The acquisition was completed on July 26, 2017. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition boosts Lonza’s micronization services at its existing micronization clinical and commercial manufacturing site in Quakertown, PA, which Lonza gained through its previous $5.5-billion acquisition of Capsugel (US), a dosage form provider, in early July 2017. Capsugel had gained the Quakertown facility in January 2016 when it acquired Powdersize (US), a contract manufacturer specializing in particle engineering. Lonza/Capsugel has since invested in significant additional capacity at the Quakertown site, which came on stream in early 2017.

A key focus for the new Lonza/Micro-Macinazione combined business will be highly potent APIs (HPAPIs), in which Micro-Macinaziones’s pilot to commercial-scale HPAPI offerings and Lonza’s recent HPAPI capacity expansion at Quakertown will provide the capacity and expertise needed to serve this area of the pharmaceutical market. Micronization via jet milling is an established technique for enhancing the overall bioavailability of drug products by reducing or controlling the particle size of the API. By improving bioavailability, lower drug doses can be prescribed, potentially reducing a patient’s side effects, according to Lonza.

Lonza’s Pharma&Biotech COO, Marc Funk, said in a company press release: “With the acquisition of Micro-Macinazione, Lonza becomes the largest and most diversified provider of micronization services to the pharmaceutical industry. Micronization is an attractive technology for Lonza given its applications across many of the high growth areas of the pharma market. Micro-Macinazione provides micronization technology and expertise that complements our existing US capabilities and provides significant additional capacity to support our growth. Its micronization technology can also add value to other areas of Lonza’ business, including Health & Nutrition ingredients and excipients, enhancing the appeal of this bolt-on acquisition, which strengthens our position across the healthcare continuum.”

Source: Lonza