Hampton, UK – 15 October 2020 – Touchlight, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of DNA-based genetic medicines, today announces the appointment of Karen Fallen as Chief Executive Officer of Touchlight DNA Services.

Karen will apply her industry-leading experience to further the rapid expansion of Touchlight’s contract manufacturing business, which is already delivering GMP materials to third parties developing Covid-19 vaccines. Her responsibilities will include boosting manufacturing capacity and substantially extending the customer base globally.

Karen joins from Lonza, where, as President, Mammalian and Microbial Development and Manufacturing, she led a multi-billion CHF business unit, delivering year over year sustained significant growth. She has more than thirty years of industry experience, joining Celltech just prior to its acquisition by Lonza Biologics plc. Since then, Karen has worked in scientific, commercial and licencing roles of increasing seniority at Lonza Pharma & Biotech. She was appointed President of the business unit that develops and manufactures biotherapeutics for Lonza’s customers in April 2019, overseeing 4,500 staff, working across 10 sites, on three continents. In this role, Karen has successfully managed an aggressive investment plan and led the development of new innovations to support business growth ambitions.

High-resolution images are available on request.

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