Fair Lawn, NJ (March 15, 2004) - Lonza Ltd. and Lonza Inc., both subsidiaries of Lonza Group Ltd., are pleased to announce that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 2, 2004 confirmed the validity of Lonza’s U.S. Patent No. 5,073,376 against an attack by an admitted infringer. The subject patent covers enteric preparations (solid oral dosage forms) of L-Carnitine L-Tartrate in tablet, capsule and powdered form, and the making and using of such preparations.

The Patent Office was presented with an exhaustive compilation of prior art, some of which had not been considered at the time the patent was initially granted, and confirmed that Lonza’s invention was patentable.  This decision strengthens the presumption of validity of the patent and reinforces Lonza’s determination to main-tain and enforce its patent rights in the L-Carnitine market. 

Lonza is a life sciences driven company, headquartered in Switzerland, which gen-erated sales of CHF 2.24 billion in 2003. It operates 18 production and R&D facili-ties in eight countries and employs 5660 people worldwide. Lonza is one of the leading custom manufacturers of chemical intermediates and active ingredients as well as biopharmaceuticals for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. In addition, Lonza also offers organic intermediates for a wide range of applications and provides antimicrobial and associated products as well as polymer intermedi-ates and compounds. For more information please visit the company’s websites at www.lonza.com or www.carnitine.com.