Lonza signed a definitive agreement to acquire five US CDMO manufacturing sites and roughly 1,100 employees from Merck KGaA, expanding its US footprint from four to nine sites. The deal also adds end-to-end development and manufacturing capabilities in bioconjugation payload-linkers and viral vectors, aligning with Lonza’s One Lonza strategy. Lonza will acquire the assets and associated businesses at a total enterprise valuation in the low- to mid-triple-digit millions of Swiss francs. The company said the transaction strengthens its capacity for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other bioconjugates, as well as viral vectors for cell and gene therapies. The announcement follows additional US investment plans, including CDMO readiness in Vacaville, California, and a commercial spray-drying facility in Bend, Oregon. Together, management framed the acquisition as part of building a more resilient and comprehensive network for clinical through commercial supply. For customers, the practical impact is expanded geographically distributed manufacturing capacity across modalities that have become central to oncology and cell-and-gene therapy outsourcing demand.