The deal – financial terms of which were not disclosed – will see Lonza’s peptide development and commercial-scale production facility in Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium change hands.
The takeover is expected to complete in the next few weeks.
A Lonza spokeswoman told us the facility produces therapeutic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) using a variety of methods and technologies - liquid-phase peptide synthesis (LPPS), solid-phase peptide sythesis (SPPS), ligation and cyclization chemistry.
She also confirmed that all 280 Lonza employees at the facility will be joining Malmo, Sweden headquartered PolyPeptide Laboratories.
The Braine-l’Alleud site houses several HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) system thin film evaporators, freeze-dryers and a condenser. It also has a research and development lab and offices dedicated to logistics, procurement, HR, finance.
The Swiss firm described the unit as a niche business and said the divestiture will “streamline” its pharma and biotech segment.
Lonza stressed that operations at Braine-l’Alleud will not be impacted by the deal.
Lonza paid former owner UCB €120m ($128m) for the site in 2006.
Polypeptide director Peter Nilsson told us "our aim is to get access to the large scale production capacity for customers in our current development portfolio and to continue to serve the existing customers of the facility."