Head of Innovation & Partnering China - Advanced Synthesis
About the job
- A PhD or equivalent advanced qualification in Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Biochemical Engineering, or a related scientific discipline.
- Extensive experience within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or CDMO industry, with strong expertise in pharmaceutical development, particularly synthetic chemistry; experience in bioconjugation is highly valued.
- Proven experience developing and translating innovation strategies into executable programs, with a strong understanding of R&D pipeline management, scientific governance, and technology evaluation.
- A strong track record of building external partnerships across customers, academia, technology providers, or other innovation ecosystems, and the ability to identify and develop differentiated technologies and services.
- Proven leadership experience across multidisciplinary scientific teams and organizational transformation, including talent development, capability building, and succession planning.
- A strategic, entrepreneurial, and commercially aware mindset, with the ability to influence scientific and executive stakeholders.
- Business-fluent English is required.
- Lead the innovation agenda in China, with accountability for the Nansha R&D organization, local chemistry and bioconjugation capabilities, automation initiatives, and strategic external partnerships.
- Define and execute the local innovation strategy in alignment with global R&D and Advanced Synthesis priorities, taking end-to-end ownership of the local innovation pipeline from opportunity identification through execution.
- Drive development of differentiated capabilities in synthetic chemistry, bioconjugation, automation, digital technologies, data science, and modeling to accelerate development, improve manufacturing performance, and create customer value.
- Build and manage high-impact partnerships with customers, academia, technology providers, and scientific networks, identifying opportunities to access new capabilities, accelerate innovation, and strengthen the external ecosystem.
- Lead pipeline prioritization, resource allocation, governance, and short- and long-term planning, balancing scientific opportunity, business impact, capacity, and investment.
- Build and develop a high-performing innovation organization and partner with Commercial, Marketing, Operations, and global R&D teams to create new services, business models, and differentiated offerings.
- Experience in bioconjugation is highly valued.
- Experience with automation, digital technologies, data science, and modeling is highly valued.
About the company
Lonza is a global provider of development and manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and nutrition sectors. It supports clients from early development through to commercial production, offering integrated processes such as process development, GMP manufacturing, formulation, fill-finish, and quality assurance to bring medicines and nutrition products to market. Lonza’s model is built on end-to-end CDMO capabilities, enabling companies to move from concept to scalable, compliant production with reliable supply chains. What sets Lonza apart is its long history and global footprint, combining decades of experience across chemistry, biology, and nutrition with a broad, end-to-end service network that supports projects from discovery to commercialization. The company aims to be a trusted, long-term partner in life sciences by helping customers efficiently develop and manufacture their products at scale while maintaining strict regulatory and quality standards.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Basel, Switzerland
Founded
1897
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- H1 2026 sales reached CHF 3.4 billion; CORE EBITDA margin hit 34.8%.
- Lonza launched RaMP on 17 August 2026, cutting media prototyping to 10 days.
- September 2026 Bend groundbreaking adds 80+ jobs and broadens U.S. customer proximity.
What critics are saying
- Lonza's 2026 pure-play shift depends on CHI closing and integration by year-end.
- Natals litigation in October 2026 exposes discovery failures and damages credibility.
- If 2029 Bend capacity underfills, Lonza becomes a capital-heavy, weaker-diversified CDMO.
What makes Lonza unique
- Lonza's March 2026 CHI divestiture makes it a pure-play CDMO.
- Bend, Oregon, gives Lonza rare U.S. commercial spray-drying capacity by 2029.
- Asimov partnership adds in vivo lentiviral-vector manufacturing with AI-native cell-line design.
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Benefits
Hybrid Work Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
17%1 year growth
17%2 year growth
17%Lonza, Onava strike AI biologics pact to speed drug discovery. Swiss manufacturing giant aims to help biotech turn AI-generated drug designs into development-ready candidates faster October 9, 2026 Associate Editor, Contract Pharma Editor's Take: AI can design drug candidates in days, but validating those designs in the lab remains a costly and time-consuming hurdle. Lonza and Onava are betting that tighter integration between AI models and experimental data generation will help produce biologic therapies that are not only effective but also easier to manufacture at commercial scale. Lonza has entered a collaboration with biotechnology startup Onava aimed at accelerating the development of AI-designed biologic drugs, underscoring a broader industry push to bridge the gap between artificial intelligence and real-world laboratory validation. Under a research evaluation, Onava will use Lonza's GS Gene Expression System and GS Ori-Go vectors to test and refine biologic drug candidates generated by its AI-native discovery platform. The companies said the arrangement is designed to shorten the path from computational predictions to experimental evidence, a key bottleneck in AI-driven drug development. Rather than relying solely on computer-generated predictions, Onava plans to feed experimental results from Lonza's expression system back into its platform, creating a continuous feedback loop intended to improve future drug designs. For Onava, the agreement provides access to industry-standard expression technology that can generate large-scale datasets on how AI-designed molecules perform in biological systems. The company said those insights will help it optimize not only for therapeutic activity but also for manufacturability and development readiness, factors that often determine whether a drug candidate can successfully advance toward commercialization. The companies indicated the collaboration could extend beyond an initial program. Onava expects to use Lonza's technology across multiple external partnerships as well as selected internal research efforts. The partnership also positions Lonza to capture downstream development and manufacturing work if candidates emerging from the collaboration advance into later-stage development. The announcement comes as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies increasingly combine AI-driven discovery tools with established laboratory platforms in an effort to reduce development timelines, improve candidate selection and lower the risk of failure in later stages of drug development. Add us as a preferred source on Google. Get the latest Contract Pharma news, insights and analysis in your Google Search and AI experiences.
Lonza and Asimov join forces on In Vivo lentiviral vector manufacturing. 2 October 2026 Leading Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Lonza (SWX: LONN) and Asimov, which is building an AI-native synthetic biology platform to advance therapeutic development, today announced a strategic collaboration to advance lentiviral vector (LVV) manufacturing for emerging in vivo applications. The collaboration brings together Asimov's LV Edge system cell line technologies with Lonza's expertise in process development, scale-up, analytics and GMP manufacturing. By connecting early design decisions with development and manufacturing considerations, the collaboration helps developers incorporate manufacturing considerations earlier in development, creating a stronger foundation for scalable clinical and commercial production. This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here. Try before you buy Free. 7 day trial access * All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech * Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from its global network of life sciences reporters. * Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever. Become a subscriber £820. Or £77 per month * Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech. * Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results. * Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech. * Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news. * Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It's part of the key information for keeping me informed Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK More on this story... 14 September 2026 22 July 2026 21 July 2026 Company news directory. Sign up to receive email updates Join industry leaders for a daily roundup of biotech & pharma news Today's issue. 2 October 2026 Company spotlight. A privately held US radiopharma company that produces actinium-225 and copper-67 on electron accelerators in Beloit, Wisconsin, and makes finished radiopharmaceutical doses for more than 30 drug developers. More features in biotechnology. 2 October 2026
Lonza Capsugel launches integrated offering supporting drug product nitrosamine risk management. New service combines sensitive nitrite testing, capsule and formulation expertise, and regulatory support to help manufacturers navigate increasingly complex nitrosamine assessments. BASEL, Switzerland, September 24, 2026 - Lonza Capsugel, a global leader in oral dosage solutions, today announced a new integrated service offering designed to help pharmaceutical manufacturers assess and understand nitrite levels in empty capsules through nitrite testing supported by a validated analytical method, scientific interpretation and regulatory support from a single trusted partner. As nitrites in empty capsules may contribute to nitrosamine formation in the drug product, scientific expertise and reliable nitrite testing data are required to perform a product-specific evaluation and support informed risk management decisions. Lonza Capsugel's integrated service enables customers to generate reliable evidence and define an appropriate nitrite risk-management approach aligned with their product needs. Services include nitrite testing, data interpretation, documentation to support regulatory submissions, scientific consultation, risk investigations, collaborative studies that facilitate engaging with regulators, all through a single point of contact for testing and technical support. At the core of the offering is Lonza Capsugel's fit-for-purpose nitrite quantification method specifically developed for the gelatin capsule matrix. The method combines ion chromatography with Griess derivatization, has been extensively validated in accordance with ICH Q2(R2) principles and can quantify nitrite levels as low as 100 ppb. By addressing matrix-specific extraction, selectivity and potential interferences, the method delivers sensitive and reliable nitrite quantification. The analytical capability supports capsule and comparative nitrite testing and customer-specific investigations. "As the industry's understanding of nitrosamine risk continues to evolve, manufacturers are moving beyond broad risk assessments toward more product-specific decision-making," said Bart Pelgrims, Vice President, R&D, Lonza Capsugel. "That shift requires not only reliable analytical data, but also the ability to interpret that data in the context of drug formulation, manufacturing processes and regulatory requirements. By bringing these capabilities together, we help customers develop risk management strategies that are both scientifically robust and practical to implement at scale." Regulatory authorities worldwide require marketing authorization holders to assess and mitigate potential nitrosamine risks. Acceptable daily intake limits for individual nitrosamine impurities are translated into product-specific concentration limits for patient safety. These measures may include nitrite concentration limits on excipients depending on the product composition. The new offering expands Lonza Capsugel's portfolio of scientific and technical services, providing manufacturers with a comprehensive approach to nitrite evaluation and support for product-specific nitrosamine assessments. Lonza Capsugel Media Contacts: Anne Holderbach Director, Strategic Marketing Lonza Capsugel Tel +33 76 267 9876 Deb Oliveri Senior Manager, External Communications Lonza Capsugel Tel +1 551-370-4127 Disclaimer Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and estimates of Lonza Group Ltd, although Lonza Group Ltd can give no assurance that these expectations and estimates will be achieved. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty and are qualified in their entirety. The actual results may differ materially in the future from the forward-looking statements included in this news release due to various factors. Furthermore, except as otherwise required by law, Lonza Group Ltd disclaims any intention or obligation to update the statements contained in this press release. All trademarks belong to Lonza Group Ltd and are registered in CH, US and/or EU, or belong to their respective third-party owners and are used only for informational purposes. Downloads.
Lonza breaks ground on $235 million Bend expansion with more than 700 jobs expected. BEND, Ore. - An expanded biotech manufacturing facility in Bend will create more than 80 high-wage permanent jobs and 650 construction jobs. In a Sept. 14 press release, Governor Tina Kotek announced the start of the project, which she says will strengthen regional economic growth and bolster Oregon's growing life sciences and advanced manufacturing industries. The project expands existing facilities in Bend owned by Swiss-based Lonza, a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO). Using advanced particle engineering and spray drying technologies, Lonza's Bend operation has supported the evaluation or development of more than 2,000 potential medicines. The new facility is earmarked for completion by 2029. The City of Bend is the first Oregon local government to use the expanded incentives offered by Governor Kotek's House Bill 4084, passed by legislators earlier this year as part of her Prosperity Roadmap. Tidings Data Snapshot How Bend's Expanded Tax Incentive Works | Feature | Program | | Standard exemption | 3 to 5 years | | Expanded option | Up to 10 years | | What qualifies | Qualified new investment | | Existing property | Remains taxable | Sources: City of Bend and Business Oregon / 2026 Dailytidings.com Oregon leads the life sciences sector. Oregon is a national leader in the life sciences sector and is home to firms such as Genentech, Lonza, and Thermo Fisher. Tidings Data Snapshot Oregon Bioscience Employment Growth Growth from 2002 to 2023 Research and testing labs: +226% Life science research: +176% Private bioscience overall: +127% Medical devices: +66% This sector generated $21.2 billion for the economy in 2023, supported nearly 75,000 jobs and 2,500 businesses statewide, and contributed $5.6 billion in exports. The expansion to the Bend site represents a total capital investment of $235 million and will strengthen Lonza's presence in the U.S. Two state-of-the-art spray drying units will be installed at the new facility, enabling Lonza to offer a full range of spray-dried dispersion (SDD) capacity to support both clinical and commercial customers. In a statement, Lonza says its world-class particle engineering team based in Bend will support customers by transforming breakthrough innovations into viable products and enabling the manufacture of medicines of the future. By Lucille McNamara | Covers public safety, courts and Oregon policy
Lonza Further Strengthens US Manufacturing Presence with Addition of a Commercial Spray-Drying Facility in Bend, Oregon Für Sie zusammengefasst Verfasst von Letzte Änderung10.09.2026, 07:00