Lonza and Touchlight collaborate on end-to-end mRNA offering

Lonza Group AG / Key word(s): Partnership
Lonza and Touchlight collaborate on end-to-end mRNA offering
06.09.2022 / 07:00 CET/CEST

• Collaboration expands Lonza’s end-to-end offering for mRNA manufacturing with additional, differentiated source of DNA raw material, Touchlight’s doggybone DNA (dbDNA^TM)
• Touchlight provides synthetic DNA through a cell-free enzymatic process, with advantages of speed, quality, capacity, and scalability
• Customers can gain access to Touchlight’s dbDNA as an integral part of Lonza’s offering, benefiting from end-to-end mRNA manufacturing capabilities to expedite time to market

Basel, Switzerland and Hampton, UK, 6 September 2022 – Lonza, a global manufacturing partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition industries, today announced a collaboration with Touchlight, a biotechnology company pioneering enzymatic DNA production to enable the genetic medicine revolution. Through this collaboration, Lonza will have the ability to integrate an additional, differentiated source of DNA in its end-to-end offering to customers developing messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, while Touchlight can widen the channels through which customers can gain access to its novel doggybone DNA (dbDNA) technology. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Lonza can now provide its customers with seamless access to Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA technology; a linear, covalently closed DNA vector, produced using an enzymatic manufacturing process which enables GMP production at unprecedented speed, scale and purity. Access to this technology expands the options for Lonza’s customers beyond the traditional method of working with plasmid DNA (pDNA), while continuing to benefit from the company’s integrated mRNA manufacturing offering. 

André Goerke, Vice President, Business Unit Head mRNA, Lonza, commented: “The strategic collaboration with Touchlight enables Lonza to further enhance its position as a global leader in mRNA manufacturing. We can now provide our customers with a strong foundation to deliver an end-to-end offering that includes access to a novel synthetic DNA technology. Such an integrated solution can prove beneficial in speeding up time to market, which is critical in the fast-paced industry of mRNA manufacturing.”

Karen Fallen, CEO, Touchlight DNA Services, added: “We are delighted to provide Touchlight customers the benefits of an end-to-end mRNA offering through our collaboration with Lonza. Lonza is the leading CDMO in mRNA manufacturing and has an established, global mRNA manufacturing network. The alliance allows both companies to innovate and to extend their offering on a global level.”

DNA serves as the starting template for the production of mRNA. Through an enzymatic in-vitro transcription process, this DNA sequence is then transcribed into a single-stranded RNA molecule, which is then processed into mRNA. Current mRNA-based therapeutics in development include vaccines for infectious diseases and immuno-oncology.

About Lonza
Lonza is a preferred global partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition markets. We work to enable a healthier world by supporting our customers to deliver new and innovative medicines that help treat a wide range of diseases. We achieve this by combining technological insight with world-class manufacturing, scientific expertise and process excellence. Our unparalleled breadth of offerings enables our customers to commercialize their discoveries and innovations in the healthcare industry.

Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, today, Lonza operates across five continents. With more than 17,000 employees (full-time equivalent), we comprise high-performing teams and individual talent who make a meaningful difference to our own business, as well as to the communities in which we operate. The company generated sales of CHF 3 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 987 million in H1 2022. Find out more at www.lonza.com

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About Touchlight
Touchlight is a privately-owned company based in London, U.K., focused on the provision of DNA services and manufacture of enzymatically produced novel DNA formats, such as doggybone DNA (dbDNA™) to enable the development of genetic medicines. Touchlight DNA Services provide rapid, enzymatic DNA development and manufacturing for all advanced therapy production, including mRNA, viral and non-viral gene therapy and DNA API. dbDNA is a minimal, linear, covalently closed structure, which eliminates bacterial sequences. Touchlight’s revolutionary enzymatic production platform enables unprecedented speed, scale, and the ability to target genes with a size and complexity that is impossible with current technologies. Clients can be supported from pre-clinical through development and supply, to licencing and tech transfer for use in-house. Find out more at www.touchlight.com

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Follow @TouchlightDNA on Twitter

Lonza Contact Details

Victoria Morgan
Head of External Communications
Lonza Group Ltd
Tel +41 61 316 2283
victoria.morgan@lonza.com

Lyle Wheeler
Investor Relations
Lonza Group Ltd
Tel +41 79 154 9522
lyle.wheeler@lonza.com

Touchlight Contact Details

Robin Bodicoat
Head of Marketing
Touchlight
robin.bodicoat@touchlight.com

Agnes Stephens / Tim Watson
Instinctif Partners (Touchlight’s PR Agency)
Tel +44 20 7457 2020
touchlight@instinctif.com

End of Media Release