The three-year contract – which is worth around $7m (€5.3m) – will see the Swiss life sciences supply the National Institutes of Health Centre for Regenerative Medicine with clinical grade induced pluripotent stem cells (iPCSs) made at its facility in Walkersville, Maryland in the US.
Lonza won its first stem cell production contract with the NIH in 2012 a few years after founding its Pluripotent Stem Cell Innovation Center which – according to Stephan Kutzer, COO Lonza Pharma-Biotech - has develop the processes needed to manufacture stem cells on a commercial scale.
"First, the group was tasked with developing technologies to help the field move pluripotent stem cell derived therapies to the clinic. Second, it was tasked with providing a comprehensive service offering to support both basic and clinical PSC research. This latest NIH contract validates Lonza's investments in this key strategic area."