Lonza has raised its full-year 2025 guidance for its contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business following a strong first half, with sales reaching CHF 3.1 billion ($3.50 billion) and CER growth of 23.1%. The CDMO division delivered a CORE EBITDA of CHF 922 million ($1.04 billion), maintaining a margin of 30.2% compared with the same period last year.

The company attributed the performance to strong commercial demand, particularly in mammalian small-scale manufacturing, and the positive contribution of its newly acquired large-scale site in Vacaville, US. Integrated Biologics, which includes the Vacaville operations, reported CER sales growth of 39.3% and a margin of 36.0%.

Operational execution and increased asset utilisation supported the business across several technology platforms, including mammalian, bioconjugates, and small molecules. Growth in bioscience also contributed, while Cell and Gene Technologies (CGT) and microbial platforms saw lower sales compared with H1 2024.

For full-year 2025, Lonza now expects CDMO CER sales growth of 20–21% (up from “approaching 20%”) and a margin of 30–31%. Excluding Vacaville, organic CER growth is expected in the low teens. The company said its mammalian manufacturing assets continue to operate at high utilisation levels, with multiple customer discussions underway for Vacaville.

“The performance of One Lonza in the first half of 2025 is built on our position as a preferred CDMO partner for the biopharmaceutical industry and our ability to deliver at or above the commitments made to our customers,” said Wolfgang Wienand, CEO of Lonza. “We continue to see sustained commercial demand across our CDMO business and drive our CapEx program forward.”

In Visp, Switzerland, the company’s new highly potent API facility became operational in Q1 2025. A large-scale mammalian drug substance plant at the same site began GMP operations at the end of H1. At Stein, a commercial-scale aseptic drug product facility remains on schedule to begin operations in 2027.

Lonza’s Capsules and Health Ingredients (CHI) division reported flat sales in H1 2025 but achieved a margin of 26.2%, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. CHI’s pharma capsules business is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in H2, with the company confirming it remains on track to exit the business as previously announced.

Other platform performance in H1 2025 included:

• Advanced Synthesis: 18.3% CER sales growth; margin of 40.3%

• Specialised Modalities: -9.2% CER sales; margin of 17.3%, affected by pipeline variability and softer performance in CGT and microbial

• Bioscience: Returned to growth, offsetting some of the decline in other modalities

At the group level, Lonza reported total H1 sales of CHF 3.6 billion ($4.07 billion), reflecting CER growth of 19%. Group CORE EBITDA was CHF 1.1 billion ($1.24 billion), with a margin of 29.6%.

Wienand also acknowledged the appointment of Juan Andres, Eric Drapé and David Meline to the board of directors in May 2025, highlighting their expertise in pharma manufacturing, quality, and finance.

The company confirmed that FX headwinds in H2 2025 may impact full-year results by 2.5–3.5%, primarily due to the weakening US dollar, though margin impact is expected to be minimal due to hedging strategies.