WuXi Biologics begins construction on microbial manufacturing site in China
WuXi Biologics has begun construction on a new microbial manufacturing facility in Chengdu, China, aimed at expanding the company’s commercial production capabilities.
The site, located in the Wenjiang district, will include both drug substance (DS) and drug product (DP) facilities spanning 95,000 square meters. It will be equipped with a 15,000L fermenter and is expected to produce 80 to 110 DS batches per year, with expansion potential to 60,000L, according to the announcement from the contract, research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO).
The site will feature China’s first dual-chamber lyophilization line and a vial filling line, providing a total DP output capacity of more than 10 million vials annually. WuXi Biologics will deploy its microbial expression platform, EffiX, which supports high-yield, scalable production of non-mAb recombinant proteins. The facility is also designed for regulatory compliance, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
Commercial production at the site will include lonapegsomatropin, VISEN Pharmaceuticals’ long-acting growth hormone for pediatric growth hormone deficiency. WuXi Biologics has also formed a strategic manufacturing partnership with Virogen Biotechnology, further reinforcing its role in supporting the development and delivery of next-generation biologics.
The Chengdu site is scheduled to complete GMP readiness by the end of 2026. WuXi Biologics CEO Chris Chen in a statement said the facility strengthens the company’s end-to-end microbial solutions and positions it to meet global demand for advanced microbial therapies.
In May, WuXi Biologics announced it is selling its DP plant in Leverkusen, Germany for approximately $168 million to Japan’s Terumo Corporation. The sale of WuXi’s facility is meant to enable the company to focus on building large-scale global DP manufacturing capacities in Singapore.
Last year, WuXi Biologics broke ground on a new 13.5-hectare CRDMO center in Tuas Biomedical Park, Singapore, which will provide integrated biologics research, development and manufacturing services. The site will add 120,000L of manufacturing capacity to its global network and is expected to employ 1,500 staff.