WuXi Biologics Announces GMP Release of 48,000L Commercial Drug Substance Manufacturing Facility in Hebei, China
WuXi Biologics announced it has successfully launched its drug substance GMP manufacturing facility (named MFG8) located in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China. MFG8 is the 11th operational drug substance facility in WuXi Biologics’ global manufacturing network and further extends the company’s foundation for initiating any project within four weeks.
The new 80,389m2 facility, which features twelve 4,000L single-use bioreactors, has been applied with a pioneering scale-out approach that combines multiple 4,000L single-use bioreactors to enable fed-batch production at different scales, ranging from 4,000L to 20,000L. The new facility’s flexible commercial manufacturing capacity can scale to meet clients’ needs and offers competitive cost of goods sold (COGS) when compared with traditional facilities using stainless bioreactors.
MFG8 is a showcase of best practices for the “Factory of the Future”, embracing the latest developments in sustainable construction and applying state-of-the-art technologies such as digital platform to optimize carbon reduction, reuse and recycle resources. A rooftop solar power project will be initiated at MFG8 to reduce carbon emissions by hundreds of tons every year.
“There has been a rising demand for contract biomanufacturing services globally driven by expanding innovative drug programs and cost-effective biologics,” said Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics. “Along with our experience and expertise in addressing biologics manufacturing challenges, the new operational MFG8 will enable us to provide a more robust commercial manufacturing network and meet customers’ growing need for drug substance services.”
He added, “MFG8 also marks a significant milestone in our ESG strategy to promote green manufacturing and clean-energy sources at our global manufacturing network. We are committed to providing reliable and flexible services to our partners for the benefit of patients worldwide, while also making meaningful contributions to the communities in which we operate.”