WuXi Biologics to Invest €325 Million to Build Largest Biomanufacturing Facility Using Single-Use Bioreactors in Ireland

DUNDALK, Ireland and SHANGHAI, April 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Prime Minister of Ireland today announced that WuXi Biologics, a Hong Kong-listed (2269.HK) global open-access biologics technology platform company, is to invest €325 million and create 400 new jobs over five years in a new biologics drug substance manufacturing facility on the Industrial Development Authority's (IDA) greenfield site in Mullagharlin, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Headquartered in Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, China, WuXi Biologics is a leading global platform company providing end-to-end solutions for biologics with a mission to accelerate and transform biologics discovery, development and manufacturing to benefit patients around the world.

This state-of-the-art "facility of the future" will be built upon the novel approach WuXi Biologics has pioneered deploying multiple single-use bioreactors for commercial biomanufacturing and is also designed to be able to run continuous bioprocessing, a next generation manufacturing technology to be first implemented globally in this campus. A total of 48,000 L fed-batch and 6,000 L perfusion bioreactor capacity will be installed, representing the world's largest facility using single-use bioreactors.

The manufacturing project in a 26-hectare campus, the company's first site outside of China, is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Speaking at today's announcement in Dundalk, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Prime Minister of Ireland said, "This is the start of something special. We will see the Factory of the Future, right here in Dundalk. It's the first sizable greenfield project from China in the pharma sector and I am delighted to see it located here in Dundalk. It's also the latest in a number of investments in this town which has become a hub for a range of sectors, mainly in the new knowledge based and pharmaceutical sectors."

Louth hosts National Pen, PayPal, Xerox, Wasdell and Prometric, to name just a few. In 2017 there were 24 IDA-supported companies in the county, and the number of jobs created by them has tripled from 1,300 in 2010 to almost 4,000. It's all part of the Government's goal to increase regional investment and associated jobs by up to 40 per cent.

Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD welcomed the announcement, saying, "I was delighted to join the Taoiseach for the official announcement of WuXi Biologics' significant investment in Dundalk. This huge €325 million investment is a great vote of confidence in Ireland and reinforces our image as a global centre of excellence in Biologics. This investment will result in the creation of over 400 highly skilled jobs over 5 years as well as approximately 700 construction jobs. This development is a further example of the success of our commitment under the Regional Action Plans for Jobs to provide quality jobs in regional locations."

"We have been engaging IDA and Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) for several years before finalizing today's exciting investment in this community. This is our second major partnership in Ireland, following WuXi NextCODE's work with Genomics Medicine Ireland (GMI). These ventures showcase how competitive Ireland is for global enterprise and investment, and we are grateful for all the support local agencies and the talented people here have provided for us," Dr. Ge Li, Chairman of WuXi Biologics, commented.

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, added, "We are all excited to initiate our first global site to enable local companies and expedite biologics development in Europe. In addition, this is the start and a critical part of our 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 committed to Ireland and will work with all local partners to build this state-of-art next generation biomanufacturing facility as a showcase to the global biotech community."

Mr. Martin Shanahan, IDA Ireland CEO continued, "This investment is a significant win for Ireland and for the BMW (Border, Midland and Western) Region particularly as it is WuXi Biologics' first manufacturing facility outside of China. It also shows that our strategy of market diversification is working. WuXi Biologics is a strong addition to Ireland's growing cluster of next-generation biopharmaceutical companies and will be an excellent reference seller for new greenfield Asia Pacific Investment into Ireland. The selection of a BMW regional location is a strong endorsement of IDA's regional strategy and property strategy to acquire and secure pre-approved planning for biopharma strategic sites. The 400 jobs being created, along with some 700 jobs at the construction phase, will be of substantial benefit to the Region. The company has shown great commitment to Ireland with this project which represents an investment of €325 million. IDA is delighted to support this project and I wish the company every success here in Ireland and in this Region and will follow their progress with interest."

"WuXi Biologics has been our long-term strategic collaborator as contract manufacturer for our Pompe biologic, ATB200. We are excited to witness this new investment and support from the company to ensure robust commercial supply for our critical program ATB200," said Dr. Enrique Dilone, SVP of Technical Operations at Amicus Therapeutics, Inc., a global biotechnology company at the forefront of advanced therapies to treat a range of devastating rare and orphan diseases.

Today's announcement expands upon the partnership established among IDA, ISIF and WuXi AppTec Group companies. WuXi Biologics' sister company, WuXi NextCODE, has partnered closely with GMI and ISIF since inception. Both investments and collaborations share a common goal: to advance cutting-edge technologies and high-value-added jobs based in Ireland and serve customers and markets worldwide.

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics, a Hong Kong-listed company, is the only open-access biologics technology platform in the world offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. Our company history and achievements demonstrate our commitment to providing a truly ONE-stop service offering and value proposition to our global clients. For more information on WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com.

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SOURCE WuXi Biologics