Rion taps Lonza to scale cGMP manufacturing of exosome therapies

Rion, a regenerative medicine company based in Rochester, Minnesota, said it has entered a collaboration with Lonza to scale cGMP manufacturing of its Purified Exosome Product (PEP) drug substance. The agreement will support late-phase clinical supply and eventual commercialization, according to the companies.

Rion has developed a proprietary biomanufacturing platform designed to enable production of platelet-derived exosomes at scale. Under the new agreement, Lonza will manufacture PEP drug substance at its Houston, Texas facility, leveraging its expertise in extracellular vesicle process development and characterization, the companies said in the announcement.

The PEP platform is reportedly formulated as a lyophilized powder and is being studied across multiple indications, including chronic wound care, immune-mediated dermatology, musculoskeletal and pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular health, and women’s health. Rion said the collaboration with Lonza will operationalize its process at commercial scale while maintaining supply reliability.

“This collaboration with Lonza ensures that our proprietary exosome manufacturing platform can be scaled to meet clinical and future commercial demand,” Atta Behfar, cofounder and CEO of Rion, said in a statement.

Lonza added that its capabilities in exosome development and manufacturing will support the production of PEP drug substance and help accelerate access to new therapies.