Lonza and Touchlight collaborate on end-to-end mRNA offering
Published: 6 September 2022
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Collaboration expands Lonza’s end-to-end offering for mRNA manufacturing with additional, differentiated source of DNA raw material, Touchlight’s doggybone DNA (dbDNA).
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Touchlight provides synthetic DNA through a cell-free enzymatic process, with advantages of speed, quality, capacity, and scalability
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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, 6th 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.
“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.”
André Goerke, Vice President, Business Unit Head mRNA, Lonza
“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.”
Karen Fallen, CEO, Touchlight DNA Services
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 approximately 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
About Touchlight
Touchlight is an innovation-driven leading CDMO pioneering enzymatic GMP DNA production to enable the genetic medicine revolution. As pioneers, with an FDA Drug Master File accepted in 2022 followed in 2025 with the world’s first cell-free DNA GMP license, Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA technology is on the cutting edge of AAV, mRNA, DNA vaccine, and gene editing technology with its state-of-the-art facility recognised by ISPE’s Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) for Innovation.
With multiple client products already in the clinic, Touchlight’s evidence-based, synthetic DNA manufacturing solutions offer a scalable, sustainable alternative to plasmid DNA (pDNA) for all stages of pre-clinical, clinical and commercial development. The company and technology are built on the conviction that DNA is fundamental to the future of medicine. Traditional methods, based on bacterial fermentation, are slow, costly, and unable to meet the growing demands of genetic medicine due to limited scalability and speed. Founded in 2007, Touchlight’s team is inspired by breakthroughs in genetic medicine, recognising the urgent need for innovative DNA production techniques to support the future of genetic therapies.
For more information please contact:
Karen Fallen, Chief Executive Officer
Verna McErlane, Chief Commercial Officer
E: info@touchlight.com
T: +44 20 8481 9200
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