WuXi Biologics, a contract research and drug manufacturing company, unveiled plans to expand its operations in Germany as part of an effort to grow its production capacity.
As part of the project, the company’s filling and freeze-drying facility located in Leverkusen, Germany, which the Chinese-based company acquired from Bayer in 2020, will add a second variable filling line. Additionally, its drug substance plant in Wuppertal, Germany, will double its total capacity from 12,000 liters to 24,000 liters, the company said in a June 1 press release.
Costs related to the expansion weren’t disclosed. The two facilities combined currently employ 360 workers.
“The investment in our facilities in Germany will add new capacity and enhance our existing manufacturing services, which will strengthen our team's ability to deliver timely support to our global clients to advance their biologics towards commercialization,” Chris Chen, Ph.D., WuXi Biologics’ chief executive, said in the release.
The project is part of the company’s global dual-sourcing network strategy designed to ensure that materials can be sourced and products manufactured at multiple sites within the company's network.
Elsewhere, WuXi Biologics in November completed work on its 1.6 million-square-foot integrated biologics center located in the Fengxian District of Shanghai. That facility provides a range of services such as antibody generation, complex biologics discovery and bispecific and multispecific antibody identification.
Beyond that project, the company is underway with the construction of a $1.4 billion R&D and production center in Singapore, where it plans to employ 1,500 people.