Basel, Switzerland and Münster, Germany, 22 October 2009 – Lonza announced today that it has signed an investment agreement, including a right of first refusal for the commercial production of products, with Cilian AG. The collaboration with Cilian provides access to a prospective technology platform for innovative applications in the nutrition and biopharmaceutical area.
Cilian AG is a small innovative biotechnology company which 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 AG together with the right of first refusal for the commercial production of products developed by Cilian based on the patent portfolio of Lonza.
Remco M. Brandt, CEO of Cilian AG, said: “We are extremely pleased with the participation of Lonza in Cilian. Their input allows us to leverage the value of Cilian by building our own product pipeline using the unique Ciliate production platform”.
“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”, says Thomas Kiy, Global Head Strategic Business Development of Lonza Life Science Ingredients.
Dr. Thomas Kiy will join the Scientific Advisory Board of Cilian AG.
About Lonza
Lonza is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Its products and services span its customers’ needs from research to final product manufacture. Lonza is the global leader in the production and support of active pharmaceutical ingredients both chemically as well as biotechnologically. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Lonza is also a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition, hygiene, preservation, agro and personal care markets.
Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. In 2008, Lonza had sales of CHF 2.937 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com.
About Cilian AG
Founded in 2001 by Marcus Hartmann and partners, Cilian (www.cilian.com) is an emerging biotechnology company developing and marketing a novel expression system. The Company uses a species of Ciliates, a eukaryotic single-cell organism, for the production of enzymes and therapeutic proteins. Besides the expression platform Ciliates are also the basis for a new enzyme preparation, which will be developed by the company for the enzyme replacement therapy in the case of maldigestion. Leveraging the unique capabilities of the Ciliates, the Company aims to produce proteins at an unmatched quality and price, thereby fulfilling its mission to improve human health by facilitating access to biopharmaceuticals.
