Lonza Acquires Rights to Nona Biosciences’ TfR1 Blood-Brain Barrier Tech 

Lonza has acquired the rights to Nona Biosciences’ transferrin receptor (TfR1) blood-brain barrier (BBB) technology and expanded its strategic collaboration with Nona to develop next-gen BBB technologies. Under the agreement, Lonza will make the BBB technology available immediately to central nervous system (CNS) therapy developers while continuing to work with Nona to advance future BBB delivery solutions.

The blood-brain barrier is a highly selective protective system that limits the ability of many therapeutic molecules to reach the brain. While essential for safeguarding brain function, it presents a major obstacle to developing effective treatments for CNS disorders.

By combining advanced BBB-crossing technologies with its biologics development expertise, including its GS Gene Expression System and GlycoConnect bioconjugation technology, Lonza aims to provide customers with new tools to address complex drug delivery challenges and advance promising CNS therapeutic candidates. 

The agreement expands a prior research collaboration between the two companies that has validated Nona’s BBB-crossing technology. Preclinical data shows that Nona’s TfR1-binding single-domain VHH technology, either as IgG fusion or by conjugation with Lonza’s GlycoConnect technology, improved brain delivery.

As investment in CNS therapies accelerates, developers are increasingly seeking technologies capable of consistent and targeted delivery through the blood-brain barrier. 

Peter Droc, Head of Licensing, Lonza, said, “With the fully acquired IP rights to Nona’s BBB-crossing technology and through our continued collaboration, we are immediately enabling our customers to translate promising CNS assets into viable therapeutics. By combining this with flexible CDMO services, we allow partners to engage with us at any stage of their journey – from technology licensing to fully integrated development and commercial manufacturing – reducing complexity and helping accelerate the path to patients.”

Dr. Di Hong, Chief Executive Officer of Nona, added, “We are excited to support Lonza to develop and commercialize high quality single-domain antibody–based BBB-crossing  technologies for CNS diseases. This collaboration underscores the power and versatility of our HCAb Harbour Mice platform and its ability to generate differentiated, fully human single-domain binders that can tackle the most challenging delivery barriers in drug development. By combining our technology with Lonza’s services and development and manufacturing expertise, we are confident to offer next-generation BBB shuttle solutions that can unlock new treatment paradigms for CNS disorders.”