With another quarter of growth in the books, Swiss CDMO Lonza is continuing to regain its forward momentum as it seeks to leave the post-COVID doldrums behind.
In a “qualitative update” Thursday, Lonza noted that it inked a number of “large” contracts in 2025’s third quarter, including a “significant long-term commercial supply agreement” at its recently acquired facility in Vacaville, California.
The company expects sales in the second half of the year to outpace those from the first and reiterated its annual revenue guidance, projecting growth between 20% and 21% for all of 2025.
While Lonza didn’t share detailed sales figures in the update, the company is crediting its recent acceleration in large part to its Vacaville biologics manufacturing site, which it gained last year in a $1.2 billion purchase from Roche.
Upon signing the deal, Lonza said it would invest 500 million Swiss francs (at the time worth $561 million) to expand the plant, which handles commercial- and clinical-stage manufacturing. The site is among the largest biologics facilities in the world, with a staff of more than 750.
Lonza touted “strong momentum” for its Integrated Biologics unit in the third quarter, noting that it’s seeing “continuing robust demand for large-scale mammalian assets” and again highlighting the boost it’s receiving from the Vacaville site.
“The site’s integration into Lonza’s global network is progressing fully in line with [the company’s] plan,” Lonza wrote in its press release. The company indicated that it’s preparing the site to tackle production of new products and expects “additional investments” in the facility “to follow in the next two to three years to upgrade the site’s automation system and multi-purpose capabilities.
Additionally, Lonza’s Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) unit returned to growth in the third quarter, supported by “higher volumes” in the sector. The company’s ability to manufacture CHI products in the U.S. is also proving beneficial to customers who are working through the “evolving U.S. tariff environment,” Lonza said.
Lonza is planning to hive off its CHI business, although the company did not deliver a formal update on the process Thursday. Instead, the CDMO reiterated that it has “made good progress with the necessary internal carve-out measures to prepare the exit … at the appropriate time.”
On the tariff front, Lonza added that it expects “no material financial impact” from currently announced U.S. trade policies. The company also “remains confident” that its diversified global footprint, which includes “large capacities” in the U.S., will enable it to support its customers’ requirements.
Lonza, like many of its CDMO peers, witnessed a slowdown in growth recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic faded into the background. But under a new CEO and in the midst of a major turnaround strategy, signs started to emerge earlier this year that Lonza’s fortunes were changing.
Specifically, in the first half of 2025, Lonza grew sales 19% at constant currencies to 3.6 billion Swiss francs (then worth $4.5 billion). When the CDMO reported results for the first half, Lonza noted that it expected the Vacaville site to contribute some half a billion Swiss francs in sales this year.
