Teva said that the venture would bring together the complementary capabilities of the two companies that will significantly advance their efforts to secure a leading position in the emerging biosimilarsmarket.
Teva president and CEO Shlomo Yanai said, "We had identified biosimilars as a major growth driver for Teva in our long-term strategy and have been augmenting our knowledge base, capabilities and infrastructure to position Teva as a leader in this market. This strategic partnership bolsters our biologics capabilities. Lonza is an ideal partner for Teva in this field with its deep knowledge and experience in biopharmaceutical development, large scale manufacturing and state of the art manufacturing facilities. Combined with Teva's global leadership and expertise in clinical development and marketing of generic pharmaceuticals, the joint venture generates significant opportunities and benefits for both companies."
Lonza CEO Stefan Borgas added, "The field of biosimilars is a natural extension of Lonza's existing life-sciences portfolio, and represents the next strategic step for the company. With Teva we have found the right strategic partner to develop this new activity, which will deliver new opportunities for both companies."
The joint venture is due launch during the first quarter of 2009. Teva did not disclose the financial aspects of the deal.
Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. In 2007, Lonza had sales of CHF 2.87 billion.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and Switzerland's Lonza Group Ltd. (SWX: LONN) will set up a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market biosimilars of selected biologic pharmaceuticals.