"Swiss CDMO Lonza Announces CEO Departure by Mutual Agreement; Chairman Baehny Takes the Helm Again Temporarily"

Lonza, the Swiss Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), has revealed that the departure of its CEO, Marc Ruffieux, was reached through mutual agreement. The Lonza Board of Directors has further announced that Albert M. Baehny, who currently serves as Chairman of the Board, will step into the role of CEO on an interim basis until a permanent successor is appointed. Notably, Baehny had previously taken on this interim role in 2020 following the departure of then-CEO Marc Funk.

Ruffieux had been at the helm of Lonza since November 2020 and had previously held the position of Head of Global Pharma Technical Operations at Roche.

The company's medium-term strategy and outlook will be unveiled in detail at the upcoming Capital Markets Day in Visp, scheduled for October 17, 2023. Lonza's recent financial performance showed sales of CHF 3.1 billion and a sales growth of 3.2% (or 5.6% on a constant currency basis) for the first half of 2023, reflecting underlying sales growth of approximately 10%. The core EBITDA of CHF 922 million resulted in a margin of 30%.