Lonza to Acquire Merck KGaA’s US CDMO Business, Adding ADC, Viral Vector, and LNP Capacity

Lonza has agreed to acquire Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s US contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business, adding five sites that support antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), viral vectors, and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).¹˒² Merck KGaA said Lonza will pay a mid-triple-digit million-euro amount, and the transaction is expected to close in mid-2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.¹

“It will significantly expand our US presence, bringing us even closer to our customers, while increasing the resilience of our global manufacturing network,” said Wolfgang Wienand, chief executive officer of Lonza.¹

What capabilities does Lonza gain?

The five sites span several complex modalities.² The St. Louis, Missouri, operation provides bioconjugation services, while sites in Madison and Verona, Wisconsin, produce high-potency payload-linkers, the cytotoxic components that are attached to antibodies to make ADCs.² The Carlsbad, California, site offers end-to-end viral vector manufacturing, including aseptic fill-finish, for cell and gene therapies.² The Indianapolis, Indiana, site provides LNP, liposome, and PEGylated protein manufacturing, also with aseptic fill-finish capacity.²

Together, the sites cover ADC, bioconjugate, and viral vector programs from clinical stage through commercial supply, according to Lonza.² “With high demand for bioconjugates and viral vectors, the acquired sites will strengthen our ability to support customers from innovation to launch and commercial supply,” Wienand said.¹

How does the deal change Lonza’s US footprint?

The acquisition adds about 1,100 employees and increases Lonza’s US sites from four to nine.² Lonza expects the sites to generate about CHF250 million in sales in 2028, at a core EBITDA margin below its group level, and will fund the purchase with cash on hand and existing credit facilities.² The businesses will operate independently until the deal closes.²

The deal addresses a gap Lonza identified only weeks earlier. At its Capital Markets Day in October 2026, Wienand described the US bioconjugation market as “very attractive” and “undersupplied.”³ Lonza said its bioconjugation capacity was in balance with demand in Europe but not in the US, and the company had been weighing internal expansion at its existing US facilities in California, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Texas, or a greenfield site.³

Why is Merck KGaA selling?

Merck KGaA said the sale supports its strategy of focusing its portfolio on innovation-driven businesses and that the CDMO business would be better positioned with an owner focused on contract manufacturing.¹ “A more concentrated Life Science portfolio will allow us to focus our investments on technologies and capabilities that build on our scientific leadership and make us an even stronger partner for our pharmaceutical, biotechnology and CDMO customers,” said Jean-Charles Wirth, member of the executive board and chief executive officer of Life Science at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.¹

Merck KGaA will keep its BioReliance Contract Testing Services business and will continue to supply consumables, technologies, and services to biopharmaceutical developers, manufacturers, and CDMOs.¹ Wirth noted that the CDMO business was built over more than 35 years.¹Until closing, the CDMO business remains part of its Life Science sector.¹

What does it mean for complex-modality manufacturing?

Sites that handle several modalities under one roof face added design challenges. In a BioPharm International® interview, Emily Heffernan, PE, US director of new process technologies at Arcadis, discussed the containment considerations for facilities that produce viral vectors. “You don’t want those vectors to perhaps contaminate any other products that are being manufactured in the facility,” Heffernan said.

The acquisition also reflects continued consolidation among CDMOs serving complex biologics. Lonza said the deal builds on other recent US investments, including preparing its Vacaville, California, site for CDMO operations and a planned commercial spray-drying facility in Bend, Oregon.²

What happens next?

The two companies expect to close the transaction in mid-2027.¹ “Our CDMO teams have built a strong foundation through their expertise and commitment. We believe Lonza is well positioned to build on that foundation and support the business’s next phase of growth,” Beckmann said.¹

References

1. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to divest CDMO business to Lonza. News release. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. November 3, 2026. Accessed November 3, 2026.
2. Lonza Signs Agreement to Acquire US CDMO Network from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Significantly Expands its US Presence. Lonza. November 3, 2026. Accessed November 3, 2026.
3. Slabodkin G. Lonza sees bioconjugation as a gap in its US network, potential area of investment. Pharma Manufacturing. October 28, 2026. Accessed November 3, 2026.