Teva and Lonza Form Biosimilars Partnership

Teva and Lonza will cooperate to develop, manufacture and market a number of affordable, efficacious and safe generic equivalents of a selected portfolio of biologic pharmaceuticals.

20/01/09 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Lonza Group Ltd. have announced their agreement to establish a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market a portfolio of biosimilars. Through this joint venture, Lonza and Teva bring together highly complementary capabilities that will significantly advance the partners' efforts to secure a leading position in the emerging biosimilars market.

Teva and Lonza will cooperate to develop, manufacture and market a number of affordable, efficacious and safe generic equivalents of a selected portfolio of biologic pharmaceuticals.

"We had identified biosimilars as a major growth driver for Teva in our long-term strategy and have been augmenting our knowledge base, capabilities and infrastructure to position Teva as a leader in this market", said Shlomo Yanai, Teva's President and Chief Executive Officer. “This strategic partnership bolsters our biologics capabilities. Lonza is an ideal partner for Teva in this field with its deep knowledge and experience in biopharmaceutical development, large scale manufacturing and state of the art manufacturing facilities. Combined with Teva’s global leadership and expertise in clinical development and marketing of generic pharmaceuticals, the joint venture generates significant opportunities and benefits for both companies.”

“We are excited to enter into this joint venture. The field of biosimilars is a natural extension of Lonza’s existing life-sciences portfolio, and represents the next strategic step for the company. With Teva we have found the right strategic partner to develop this new activity, which will deliver new opportunities for both companies”, commented Stefan Borgas, Lonza’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are confident that our capabilities in the area of biologics manufacturing will add value to this joint venture; while at the same time, the agreement ensures that we will be able to continue to fully support the development of new technology and business of our existing innovator customers.” 

The joint venture is expected to commence activities during the first quarter of 2009, subject to receipt of any applicable regulatory approvals. Financial details of this agreement are not being disclosed.

The companies will continue to assess their cooperation under the joint venture as both Teva and Lonza retain the ability to explore additional opportunities in the area of biosimilars beyond the scope of this partnership.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel, is among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is the world’s leading generic pharmaceutical company. The Company develops, manufactures and markets generic and innovative human pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as animal health pharmaceutical products. Over 80 percent of Teva’s sales are in North America and Europe.