EIC Corporate Corner with Lonza: how a CDMO scouts and partners to shape future medicines
- ›Lonza uses a mix of pull and push open innovation approaches to source technologies that complement its biologics R&D.
- ›The External Innovation team scouts disruptive technologies and works to convert collaborations into tangible business outcomes.
- ›EIC Corporate Days give vetted, funded startups exposure and coaching and act as an efficient gateway for corporates seeking external innovation.
- ›Lonza is open to multiple partnership models including joint R&D, service agreements, in-licensing and strategic collaborations.
- ›Key challenges are prioritising opportunities that create mutual value and identifying truly transformational innovations.
- ›Practical advice to startups: be realistic, concise, do pre-work on potential applications for Lonza, and favour transparency and flexibility.
EIC Corporate Corner with Lonza: working together for a healthier world
On 21 November 2022 the European Innovation Council and Lonza ran an online Corporate Day that gave EIC-funded innovators a chance to pitch technologies aimed at improving healthcare and pharmaceutical processes. After the event the EIC interviewed Delphine Demeestere, Director of External Innovation within Biologics R&D at Lonza, to explain how the company approaches external collaborations and what it looks for in partners.
What Lonza does and where External Innovation fits
Lonza positions itself as a contract development and manufacturing organisation or CDMO. In practice that means the company combines scientific expertise, process development and large scale manufacturing to help customers move drug candidates from discovery through to commercial production. That role makes efficient access to new tools and methods strategically important because customers expect the CDMO to offer up to date technical capabilities that reduce development times and costs.
How Lonza approaches open innovation
Lonza adopts both reactive and proactive strategies to integrate external technologies. The company must balance responding to internal scientists' requests with proactively injecting disruptive ideas into its pipeline. Both approaches have different operational implications and lead to different types of engagements.
The main operational challenges for External Innovation are prioritising the right opportunities and distinguishing incremental improvements from genuinely transformative innovations. Prioritisation requires assessing potential economic value for both Lonza and its partners and making tradeoffs across limited internal resources.
Why Lonza participates in EIC Corporate Days
From Lonza's perspective the EIC Corporate Day format offers efficient access to carefully vetted, EU-funded startups across geographies and sectors. The EIC adds value beyond event logistics by preparing start-ups with coaching sessions, which increases the quality of pitches and reduces time spent on initial screening.
Types of partnerships Lonza considers
Lonza uses multiple collaboration models. The choice depends on technology maturity, strategic fit, intellectual property considerations and the commercial roadmap of the partner. Many relationships begin with joint R&D because that model gives both sides a bounded project to test fit and technical compatibility.
| Model | Typical arrangement | When it is used | Pros | Cons |
| Joint R&D | Collaborative development project with defined milestones | Early to mid technology readiness where co-development reduces technical risk | Shared risk, builds mutual understanding and IP arrangements, good for proof of concept | Requires governance, time to align objectives and resources |
| Service agreement | Lonza provides development or manufacturing services to the partner | When Lonza's facilities or knowhow are needed to deliver a customer solution | Quick route to market, revenue for partner, clear scope | Less strategic alignment and limited IP sharing |
| In-licensing | Lonza obtains rights to use or develop a technology | When Lonza wants exclusive or non-exclusive rights to key technology | Access to ready technology, can accelerate product offerings | Upfront costs and contractual complexity, depends on partner's valuation |
| Strategic collaboration | Longer term partnership often spanning multiple projects | When there is clear mutual strategic benefit and alignment | Deeper integration and potential for higher joint value | Requires stronger commitment, complex negotiations and governance |
How startups should approach Lonza
Delphine emphasises that successful approaches start with technical clarity and realism. Startups should present a concise description of their technology, its differentiators and realistic use cases. Lonza values creativity when jointly solving specific problems and also appreciates when startups do preparatory work to understand what of their offering could be economically relevant to Lonza.
Outcomes and outlook
The EIC Corporate Day with Lonza produced positive internal feedback and yielded a number of opportunities worth exploring. Lonza will now perform due diligence and prioritise candidates that best match its strategic needs. That process is typical when large corporates engage with multiple early stage innovators.
From a wider EU innovation ecosystem perspective, these events matter because they lower search costs for corporates and provide startups with structured exposure to customers and industrial partners. The EIC plays an important convening role in Europe by combining funding, matchmaking and coaching. Still, getting from initial pitch to a productive partnership remains a practical challenge that requires alignment on technical scope, legal terms and commercial incentives.
Where to go next
Startups interested in connecting with large European corporates should consider engaging with EIC Business Acceleration Services events and the EIC Corporate Days calendar. Participation gives exposure, coaching and a curated audience. Corporates should continue to balance internal pull requests with active external scouting to avoid missing disruptive ideas.
Lonza and the EIC both stress that partnerships are practical exercises. Successful collaborations require realistic assessment of technology readiness, transparent communication and project structures that share risk and reward.