China's WuXi Biologics, a leading global open-access biologics technology platform recently announced plans to invest S$80 million (equivalent to approximately $60 million) and hire approximately 150 employees to establish a state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in Singapore. It will be the 10^th global drug substance manufacturing facility of WuXi Biologics (MFG10).

The new manufacturing facility, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, is the Company’s first overseas site in Asia and second site outside of China.

This state-of-the-art “facility of the future” will be built upon the novel approach WuXi Biologics has pioneered deploying single-use bioreactors. It is also designed to be able to run continuous bioprocessing, a next generation manufacturing technology to be first implemented in Asia outside of China. A total of approximately 4,500 L bioreactor capacity will be installed with two 2,000 L traditional fed-batch and one 500 L perfusion based continuous processing. This facility will be able to handle both clinical and small volume commercial production. An early-stage bioprocess development lab will also be included.

“We are delighted that WuXi Biologics has chosen Singapore as its first overseas manufacturing site in Asia. This will introduce the company’s next-generation bioprocessing technology platform to this region. WuXi Biologics’ decision is a testament to Singapore’s strong talent pool for the biomedical sciences sector and our capabilities in advanced manufacturing. Its presence here will also strengthen our ecosystem for supporting biotech companies from Singapore and beyond,” said Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of EDB.

“Singapore is acknowledged as a leader in the biopharmaceutical industry. The new site plays a key role in WuXi Biologics’ global biomanufacturing network to ensure that biologics are manufactured at the highest quality and with a robust supply chain to benefit patients worldwide. We are grateful for all the support local agencies and the talented people here have provided for us. With the strong support, we believe we can quickly push forward this exciting project,” said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman of WuXi Biologics.

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, added, “The new site will undoubtedly meet WuXi Biologics’ growing need for biologics development and manufacturing in the near future. We are all very excited to initiate our first overseas Asian site in Singapore to enable local companies and expedite biologics development in Asia. We are committed to becoming the most comprehensive capability and technology platform in the global biologics industry to enable both local and global partners.”