▪ The four-year agreement provides benefits for portfolio companies of Forbion and BioGeneration Ventures (BGV)
▪ Lonza to provide de-risking, development and manufacturing services for large molecule biologics
▪ The agreement will streamline the gene to IND process, accelerating lead candidate selection through entry into first in human studies
Forbion, a leading venture capital firm building life science companies, BioGeneration Ventures (BGV), a specialized life sciences venture capital firm focusing on early-stage European biotech companies, and Lonza announced today a collaboration agreement for the development and manufacturing of biologics.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lonza will provide a tailored offering and advice and services to the portfolio companies of Forbion and BGV. The offering comprises early de-risking, development and manufacturing, and optimization services for large molecule biologics. By leveraging the expertise of Lonza's discovery services, this collaboration will reduce the risk of failures when selecting lead candidates and ensuring the optimum molecule progresses into process development. Use of Lonza's platform manufacturing process and leading GS Xceed® expression technology leverages over 30 years of experience, enabling a quick and low-risk transition from bench to GMP manufacture for fast entry into a phase I clinical trial.
The agreement was developed by Lonza to support the unique needs of VCs and their portfolio companies. It's focused on making it easier for emerging biotechs to access preclinical/CMC expertise and services from gene to drug product, including expert regulatory support. This streamlines and de-risks CMC activities, simplifies the supply chain and accelerates lead candidate selection and process development to progress candidates to the clinic rapidly. The agreement covers gene to IND services for either mammalian or microbial molecules.