Lonza is founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps (Visp), first as power and chemicals. The CDMO is a later identity. Headquarters now Basel.

Lonza and Moderna announce a 10-year collaboration (1 May 2020) to manufacture mRNA-1273 in the US and Switzerland, targeting material for up to 1 billion 50 µg doses a year. Do not treat 2020 APA capacity as the 2026 contract.