Wego Pharmaceutical Co. will manufacture single-use bioprocessing consumables on behalf of GE Healthcare from its facility in Weihai, China.

The partnership with China’s Wego, financial details of which have not been divulged, will decrease product delivery times of GE Healthcare’s single-use bioprocessing products for Chinese biopharmaceutical companies, the firm says.

“This collaboration helps local Chinese biomanufacturers focus on bringing much needed therapeutics to Chinese patients,” Olivier Loeillot, general manager of BioProcess at GE Healthcare Life Sciences, told BioProcess Insider.

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“Local manufacturing offers cost-related advantages that positively affect lead times, ensure supply security and enhance customer support.”

Wego will make single-use consumables which “complement and support our various single-use hardware and solutions like Flexfactory and KUBio,” he added. The products will be manufactured using GE Healthcare’s materially advanced, single-use platform film, Fortem.

In-country, For-country

Quoting IMS data, GE Healthcare says the estimated annual growth rate (CAGR) for monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in China is more than 25% over the next few years. The rapid development is supported by the Chinese government’s Made in China 2025 industry plans.

The partnership with Wego increases GE Healthcare’s access to this market and forms part of GE Healthcare’s ‘In-country, For-country’ initiative, which focuses on improving local innovation and building products, resources and technology for local needs.

“Wego Pharmaceutical is one of the largest healthcare technology suppliers in China and they have proven their ability to manufacture a wide variety of critical healthcare products in their high-quality, modern manufacturing facilities,” said Loeillot.

“Wego has strong Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) processes and ISO13485 quality system, which comes along with deep clean-room operation experience. They have already demonstrated themselves as a valued In-country, For-country provider in China with well-established relationships with regulatory bodies.”

While the collaboration is currently focused on the domestic Chinese market, there is the potential to expand distribution to the greater Asia Pacific market, he added.