Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, a leading global bioscience company, and Lonza AG, a leading pharma contract manufacturing company, announce today that they have received the relevant approvals from anti-trust regulators needed to establish the 50/50 joint venture in the emerging market for live biotherapeutic products, which was originally announced in Company Announcement No. 04 on April 2, 2019.
Going forward the joint venture will operate under the name Bacthera from its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Bacthera is a combination of the words bacteriology, therapeutic and era – clearly reflecting the company’s purpose to enable its customers to bring life-changing treatments to patients and pioneer the live biotherapeutic industry. Now approved to start operations, Bacthera is engaging with its first customers.
Over the coming months Bacthera will upgrade existing facilities in Hørsholm, Denmark, and equip new facilities in Basel, Switzerland to serve pre-clinical to phase II projects. Further facilities for phase III and commercial manufacturing will be developed as the pipeline matures. Overall, EUR 90 million will be invested, shared equally between Chr. Hansen and Lonza, over a period of three years and Bacthera is expected to be largely self-funding after that.
Chr. Hansen is a global, differentiated bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. At Chr. Hansen we are uniquely positioned to drive positive change through microbial solutions. We have worked for almost 150 years to enable sustainable agriculture, better food and healthier living for more people around the world. Our microbial and fermentation technology platforms, including our broad and relevant collection of around 50,000 microbial strains, have game-changing potential. Matching customer needs and global trends we continue to unlock the power of good bacteria to respond to global challenges such as food waste, global health and the overuse of antibiotics and pesticides. As one of the world’s most sustainable companies, we touch the lives of more than 1 billion people every day. Driven by our legacy of innovation and curiosity to pioneer science, our purpose – To grow a better world. Naturally. – is at the heart of everything we do.
