The contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) is investing $240m (€203m) in the 25-acre site – located in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province – which will house process development labs, as well as clinical manufacturing capabilities with 5,000L bioreactor capacity, and 48,000L bioreactor capacity for commercial manufacturing.
Operations at the Northern China site are expected to begin in 2020, and will serve both Chinese and global clients, CEO Chris Chen told us.
In an earlier statement, Chen said the centre will “enable local companies to more effectively develop and manufacture biologics and in the meantime provide a robust supply chain network for our global clients.”
“We will quickly and cost-effectively expand our manufacturing capacity,” he added.
The announcement marks WuXi Biologics’ second site investment in as many months. In late April, the CDMO said it would build a biomanufacturing facility for commercial production in Ireland, with single-use bioreactors and continuous bioprocessing capabilities.
The €325m site will be built on Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority’s (IDA) greenfield site in Mullagharlin, Dundalk, Co. Louth.