SHANGHAI and DUNDALK, Ireland, March 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Vaccines, a world-leading vaccine Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), today announced it achieved the weather-tight construction milestone of its vaccine manufacturing facility currently under construction in Dundalk, Ireland, while the company demonstrated extraordinary resilience despite COVID-19 challenges. The facility is expected to be operational in 2022. The modular lab was already in GMP operations since July 2020.
WuXi Vaccines signed a 20-year vaccine manufacturing contract valued at approximately USD $3 billion with a global pharmaceutical company in February 2020, following the signing of the letter of intent in May 2019. To implement this landmark agreement, WuXi Vaccines invested USD $240 million to build its vaccine manufacturing facility in Dundalk, Ireland. The facility will be equipped with drug substance (DS) manufacturing, drug product (DP) manufacturing, manufacturing science and technology (MS&T), and quality control (QC) labs.
"We are proud that we achieved this critical milestone on-schedule and per-specifications of the global partner progress which met our commitments to our client while addressing the challenges presented by COVID-19. We will continue to leverage our innovative technology and expertise, our world-class integrated platforms to enable our partners in accelerating the development and manufacture of high-quality vaccine products effectively and efficiently," said Mr. Jian Dong, CEO of WuXi Vaccines.
Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics and Chairman of WuXi Vaccines, stated, "Against the backdrop of a severe epidemic in the local region and increasingly strained global supply chain, our strategic customer, third-party engineering companies and our colleagues on three continents worked above and beyond the call of duty to complete the construction as scheduled. We could not be more thrilled to reach this important milestone. WuXi Vaccines will remain committed to contributing to the global vaccine supply chain networks and to guarantee consistency and on-time delivery of high-quality vaccines."
About WuXi Vaccines
WuXi Vaccines is a joint venture between WuXi Biologics (Stock Code: 2269.HK) and Shanghai Hile Bio-Technology (Stock Code: 603718.SH). WuXi Vaccines' world-class integrated platforms and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) model enables companies to develop and manufacture vaccines for the benefit of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com/FacilitieD-WuXi_Vaccines.html.
About WuXi Biologics
WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK), a Hong Kong-listed company, is a leading global open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop, and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. The company's history and achievements demonstrate its commitment to providing a truly one-stop service offering and strong value proposition to its global clients. As of June 30, 2020, there were a total of 286 integrated projects, including 141 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 125 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 19 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and one project in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity for biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, the U.S., Germany, and Singapore exceeding 300,000 liters after 2023, WuXi Biologics will provide its biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network. For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit: www.wuxibiologics.com
