Lonza, the global life sciences company, announces the extension of the existing supply agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to produce in its Portsmouth, NH (USA) facility until the end of 2013 the active pharmaceutical ingredient for Orencia (abatacept), a biologic agent discovered and developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The extension will provide Bristol-Myers Squibb with additional production capacity in support of future sales of Orencia.

"We are very proud of the trust we have built with Bristol-Myers Squibb, which is dem-onstrated in their decision to extend our agreement to provide Orencia manufacturing services. Together with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lonza is providing support to ensure that Orencia continues to be available to patients," said Stephan Kutzer, Head of Lonza's Biopharmaceuticals business sector. "The contract extension confirms Lonza's leadership position in custom biopharmaceutical manufacturing."

Orencia, approved by the FDA in December 2005 and launched in the US in February 2006, is the first in a new class of biologic drugs. It is a selective modulator of a co-stimulatory signal required for full T-cell activation, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Lonza is one of the world's leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Its products and services span its customers' needs from research to final product manufacture. Lonza is the global leader in the production and support of pharmaceutical active ingredients both chemically as well as biotechnologically. Bio-pharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.