Merck KGaA agreed to divest its CDMO business to Lonza, covering five manufacturing facilities and about 1,100 employees, as the German drugmaker narrows focus and exits contract manufacturing capacity. The transaction outlines a notable shift in European pharma manufacturing footprint—especially for customers seeking CDMO scale and capabilities tied to Merck’s network. In rare disease, BioMarin signed an up-to-$475 million deal for HM15421/GC1134A (LA-GLA), a long-acting, subcutaneous enzyme replacement therapy designed to extend tissue exposure for Fabry disease. The candidate pairs Hanmi’s long-acting drug technology with GC Biopharma’s ERT expertise, and BioMarin received worldwide rights, while GC and Hanmi retain commercialization rights in Korea and split regulatory development responsibilities. BioMarin said LA-GLA is in a Phase I/II trial (NCT06858397), differentiating it from conventional IV ERT administered every two weeks. The agreement also includes potential milestone payments up to $405 million shared between the South Korean partners and tiered royalties on net sales.