WuXi Bio begins building $1.4bn Singapore plant

First touted in 2022, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) will complement a small-scale manufacturing facility that opened in the city-state last year with a $1.4 billion commercial biologics plant.

The site, located in Singapore’s Tuas Biomedical Park, will be equipped with WuXi Bio’s proprietary technical platforms, along with other technologies such as single-use systems. Around 1,500 jobs will be created when the site reaches full capacity.

“We are excited to enhance our capacity and geographic footprint by building a new CRDMO [Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization] center in Singapore to serve the growing demands from the global and emerging Asia-Pacific markets,” Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, said in a statement.

“Our Singapore CRDMO center will provide high-quality and more cost-efficient end-to-end CRDMO services near where our clients operate through our Global Dual Sourcing strategy.”

Png Cheong Boon, chairman of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), said the new build will “strengthen Singapore’s biopharmaceutical sector, which comprises global healthcare companies operating best-in-class manufacturing and R&D facilities, complemented by a strong local R&D and start-up ecosystem.

“This investment will create significant employment opportunities for Singaporeans, and spur collaborations between WuXi Biologics, our R&D institutions and startups to develop innovative therapeutics and novel modalities.”

The news comes as WuXi Biologics, along with separate-but-related services firm WuXi AppTec, faces a difficult situation as some members of the US Congress believe a China-based company should not have inside information about US drug development.

By the nature of its business, both firms partner with US biopharma companies with 65% of WuXi AppTec’s revenues generated by US companies. Congress pressured BIO, the US-based biopharma trade organization, to drop its support for WuXi. WuXi responded by resigning from BIO.

WuXi Biologics has facilities in China, the US, Ireland, Germany and Singapore. As of December 31, 2023, WuXi Biologics has 698 integrated client projects underway, including 24 in commercial manufacturing.

A version of this story was first published in ChinaBio Today on March 21, 2024