WuXi To Build World’s Largest Mammalian Cell Culture Facility

To be completed in January 2017, the cell culture facility will feature disposable bioreactors.

AsianScientist (May 6, 2015) – WuXi Biologics, a wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc., a R&D capability and technology platform company, has begun construction on a new US$150 million biologics manufacturing facility in Wuxi city.

The new facility to be completed by January 2017 will house fourteen 2,000 liter disposable bioreactors for fed-batch cell culture and two 1,000 liter bioreactors for perfusion runs. The facility will also be built to run advanced continuous or semi-continuous manufacturing processes in addition to traditional fed-batch and perfusion modes.

When complete, this new facility will be the largest mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility using disposable bioreactors in the world. It will also be the largest biologics manufacturing facility of any kind in China.

This facility further expands WuXi’s already extensive biologics manufacturing capabilities. In August 2012, WuXi completed state-of-the-art biologics clinical drug substance and drug product manufacturing facilities in Wuxi city, the first in China that met cGMP standards of the United States, the European Union and China. Since then, the facilities have ramped up quickly to produce clinical supplies for the US, EU, China and other markets. In March 2014, the drug substance facility received the honorable mention “facility-of-the-year” award by International Society For Professional Engineering (ISPE), a first for China.

“Investment in this state-of-the-art biologics commercial facility of the future is another milestone for WuXi Biologics,” said Dr. Ge Li, chairman and ceo of WuXi PharmaTech. “This project continues to strengthen WuXi’s capabilities in integrated biologics discovery, development and manufacturing services. We maintain the highest quality standards to expedite global development of biologics for both international clients and Chinese companies.”

———

Source: WuXi AppTec; Photo: Umberto Salvagnin/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

Related Stories from Asian Scientist