WuXi AppTec plans US$120m investment in new integrated biologics solution centre
Facility will provide integrated idea-to-clinic solutions for the discovery, development and clinical production of biologics on a consolidated campus
WuXi AppTec has started to construct a state-of-the-art integrated biologics solution centre at the company's headquarters in Shanghai, China.
The company plans to invest a total of US$120m in this dedicated, 250,000ft2 facility, which will be operational in 2017 and accommodate 800 scientists. The facility will provide integrated solutions, from ideas to the clinic, for the discovery, development and clinical production of biologics on a consolidated campus.
The biologics discovery centre will use the state-of-the-art OmniRat platform in collaboration with Open Monoclonal Technology and in-house proprietary phage display libraries to enable global clients to discover conventional and bispecific mAbs, and antibody-drug conjugates.
The biologics development centre will utilise WuXi's proprietary CHO cell line platform to develop fed-batch and perfusion processes to meet demanding processing needs. The co-located cGMP clinical manufacturing facilities will support four concurrent campaigns using three 2000L fed-batch and two 500L perfusion bioreactors.
With this comprehensive platform of discovery and development, customers will benefit from the speed, agility, efficiency and unsurpassed quality of WuXi's operations to expedite their global biologics research and development. ‘We are very pleased to continue to invest in our biologics capabilities and expand our capacities to support the ambitious plans of our global clients,’ said Dr Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec. ‘With this investment, WuXi will further strengthen its position as a global leader in biologics R&D, offering a truly unique integrated solution.’
