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WuXi Biologics is deepening its manufacturing footprint with the construction of a new 95,000-square-meter (1.2 million-square-foot) microbial production plant in Chengdu, China. Expected to be GMP-ready by late 2026, the new site will mark a national first by housing China’s first dual-chamber lyophilization line, alongside a state-of-the-art vial filling line. The facility is designed to produce over 10 million vials annually and will feature a 15,000-liter fermenter capable of delivering 80 to 110 drug substance batches each year. The company has not disclosed the project’s total investment.
The Chengdu facility is being designed with flexibility in mind, supporting a wide array of biologic modalities such as peptides, antibody fragments, enzymes, cytokines, plasmid DNA, and virus-like particles. WuXi Biologics views the expansion as a timely move to capitalize on the rapid global growth of microbial products and next-generation therapies. “With its robust production scale and cutting-edge technologies,” CEO Chris Chen noted, the site is “ideally positioned to capitalize on this trend.”
Among the initial production projects assigned to the new plant is the manufacture of lonapegsomatropin, VISEN Pharmaceuticals’ long-acting growth hormone treatment for pediatric growth hormone deficiency. Additionally, WuXi Biologics will partner with Virogen Biotechnology for commercial manufacturing operations from this site.
The expansion follows a year of solid performance for the CDMO giant. Despite facing political headwinds in the U.S., WuXi Biologics reported a 9.6% increase in annual sales for 2024, reaching nearly 18.7 billion yuan ($2.6 billion). Excluding COVID-related contracts, year-over-year revenue growth stood at 13.1%, largely driven by its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platforms, bispecifics, capacity expansions, and increased European production.
Looking ahead, the company anticipates “accelerated and profitable growth in 2025 and beyond,” Chen stated in a March update. Even as it expands, WuXi Biologics continues to fine-tune its global portfolio, recently selling a German production site for $167 million. The Chengdu project reinforces WuXi’s long-term commitment to advanced biologics manufacturing and the global CDMO market.
