Lonza: Capsugel contributes to ‘record year’ for Swiss CDMO
For the full year, Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza reported total sales of CHF 5.1bn ($5.5bn), up 23.5% on 2016.
The figure includes sales from encapsulating services firm Capsugel, which Lonza acquired for $5.5bn in July. On January 1, integration was completed with Capsugel being fully integrated into the Lonza structure.
“With less than six months on Lonza's books, Capsugel has already shown its potential to add to Lonza's growth, especially as synergies are expected to materialise starting in 2018,” Lonza said.
During a presentation on the full year’s financials, the firm added Capsugel has “further strengthened the depth and breadth of Lonza’s offerings for small molecules.”
Capsugel offers pharma firms a range of oral multiparticulate technologies, along with its bioavailability enhancing enteric protection and rapid release enTRinsic drug delivery platform.
When the deal was announced, Lonza said it expected to achieve operating synergies of CHF 30m a year in three years, along with a further CHF 15m a year in “tax synergies.”
Without the addition of Capsugel, Lonza still reported double-digit growth with sales of CHF 4.6bn, up 10.4% year-on-year.
Both Lonza’s Pharma&Biotech and Specialty Ingredients divisions did well, but the firm said it was “another record year” for the former, “supported by high demand across all businesses with strong development in Commercial Mammalian and in Chemical Manufacturing, as well as ongoing high demand for Clinical Development services.”
