Lonza Group AG recently bought Cambrex Corp.’s bioproducts and biopharma businesses.

Cambrex’ bioproducts business manufactures and markets research, therapeutic and analytical testing products based on cell biology for drug discovery and biotherapeutic manufacturing. The biopharma segment offers process development services and contract manufacturing under cGMP conditions for therapeutic proteins, vaccines and other biologic drugs. The business segments also include a broad portfolio of 120 active pharmaceutical ingredients, advanced pharmaceutical intermediates and specialty ingredients for animal health, X-ray diagnostics and other applications. Lonza will pay $460 million in cash. Combined 2005 sales from the segment accounted for 42 percent of Cambrex’ total gross sales of $452 million.

“This is the largest acquisition in our long company history and represents a significant commitment and leap forward toward achieving our long-time goal of becoming one of the world’s leading suppliers to our existing and new customers in the pharmaceutical, health care and other life sciences industries,” says Stefan Borgas, Lonza CEO. “We are now closer to this goal than ever before.”

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