Walkersville, MD (USA) and Munich, Germany, March 14, 2013– Lonza Walkersville, Inc. and Hyglos GmbH, a German biotech company, announced today that they have reached a mutually beneficial global settlement which includes a license agreement for Hyglos under certain Lonza patents in the area of endotoxin detection. Specifically, the agreement allows Hyglos to use recombinant factor C technology protected by Lonza’s patents to produce Hyglos’ own endotoxin products. The agreement also includes the dismissal of the law suit Lonza previously filed against Hyglos. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
“Thanks to this agreement an important door has opened for a new era in endotoxin detection. We are convinced that Hyglos’ innovative assays, entirely based on recombinant molecules, are addressing important needs of endotoxin testing laboratories worldwide” said Dr. Wolfgang Mutter, General Manager of Hyglos GmbH.
“We are very glad to have reached this agreement with Hyglos. Endotoxin detection using recombinant factor C instead of Limulus amoebocyte lysates has recently been acknowledged by the FDA as an alternative method. We believe that this sustainable animal-free alternative will be the future of endotoxin detection.” concluded Dr. Teun Van der Heide, Head, Lonza Bioscience.
About Hyglos
Hyglos is an internationally active biotech company based in Germany. Hyglos core competency is to exploit its proprietary phage-protein technology in developing recombinant proteins and enzymes applied in new and improved testing solutions. The Hyglos test kits are used in research, biopharmaceutical development and quality control as well as food and clinical microbiology. To this end Hyglos also collaborates with several world-leading companies. With the 2011 introduction of EndoLISA® - the world’s first solid-phase based method for endotoxin detection - Hyglos initiated its contribution to the important evolution of non-animal endotoxin testing. In January 2013, Hyglos extended its endotoxin detection portfolio with the commercial launch of EndoZyme® Recombinant Factor C (rFC) Assay. Further information can be found at www.hyglos.de.
About Lonza
Lonza is one of the world's leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Products and services span its customers’ needs from research to final product manufacture. It is the global leader in the production and support of chemical and biological active pharmaceutical ingredients. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. Lonza is also the world leader in microbial control providing innovative, chemistry-based and related solutions to destroy or to selectively inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms. Its activities encompass the areas of water treatment, personal care, health and hygiene, industrial preservation, materials protection, and wood treatment. In addition, Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Furthermore, the company is a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition and agro markets.
Contact
Lonza Group Ltd
Media Relations
Melanie Disa
Tel +1 201 316 9413
Fax +1 201 696 3533
melanie.disa@lonza.com