Lonza acquires stake in Cilian
In the wake of the withdrawal of its bid for Patheon, Swiss company Lonza has signed an investment agreement with German biotech company Cilian. The collaboration provides access to a prospective technology platform for innovative applications in the nutrition and biopharmaceutical area.
In the wake of the withdrawal of its bid for Patheon, Swiss company Lonza has signed an investment agreement with German biotech company Cilian. The collaboration provides access to a prospective technology platform for innovative applications in the nutrition and biopharmaceutical area.
Cilian uses the abilities of ciliates, eukaryotic single-cell micro-organisms (specifically the strain Tetrahymena thermophila), for the production of therapeutic proteins and nutritional ingredients. Lonza owns a number of patents and patent applications in the field of Tetrahymena thermophila and will transfer these patents and patent applications to Cilian. In return Lonza will acquire newly issued shares in Cilian, together with the right of first refusal for the commercial production of products developed by Cilian based on the patent portfolio of Lonza.
"We are extremely pleased with the participation of Lonza in Cilian," said ceo Remco M. Brandt. "Their input allows us to leverage the value of Cilian by building our own product pipeline using the unique Ciliate production platform."
Dr Thomas Kiy, global head strategic business development of Lonza Life Science Ingredients, will join the Scientific Advisory Board of Cilian. "We believe that Cilian's production platform for enzymes, antibodies and other proteins has the potential to provide attractive innovations in the nutrition and biopharmaceutical area," he added.