Lonza Group

Lonza Group is a Swiss multinational, chemicals and biotechnology company, head-quartered in Basel, with R&D centres in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, U.K., Singapore, United States and Genome Valley, India. The company provides product development services to the pharmaceutical and biologic industries, including organic, fine and performance chemicals, custom manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, chemical synthesis capabilities, detection systems and services for the bioscience sector.

History

Lonza was founded in 1897 in the small Swiss town of Gampel, situated in the canton of Valais, taking its name from the nearby river. Initially the company produced electricity used to manufacture chemicals such as calcium carbide. Lonza moved to neighbouring Visp (where it retains a production site today) in 1909 and began manufacturing synthetic fertilisers, and moves into vitamins, acids, intermediates and additives followed. In 1974, the group merged with aluminium firm Alusuisse, after which the group moved into the biotechnology sector. Lonza de-merged from the Alusuisse-Lonza Group in 1999 and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange. The company has expanded in the United States and acquired smaller biopharmaceutical units in recent years. In October 2011, Lonza acquired American firm Arch Chemicals for $1.4 billion, as a result becoming the world's largest manufacturer of biocides.