SHANGHAI, October 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: WX), a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device research and development services company with operations in China and the United States, today announced the acquisition of Abgent, Inc., a provider of biological research reagent products and services based in Suzhou, China, and San Diego, California.
Founded in 2001, Abgent is already one of the world's largest manufacturers of antibody reagents for research use. The company maintains a comprehensive catalog of about 20,000 antibody products. Abgent also serves as the original manufacturer of antibodies distributed by large reagent suppliers. The company distributes its antibody reagent products by direct sales through its web portal and small sales force and through a network of distributors around the world. In addition to manufacturing antibodies, Abgent also develops and produces peptides and proteins for research and diagnostic applications.
The acquisition of Abgent is a logical extension of WuXi's successful business model. WuXi has achieved strong growth for the past decade by building capabilities and capacities to provide high-quality and cost-effective services for global customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device industries. Abgent brings to WuXi new product lines of biological research reagents for drug discovery and basic research to expand our service offering to our existing customers and to new customers in the life-science research community.
Abgent utilizes a high-quality, low-cost development and production base, operating state-of-art facilities consisting of a 34,000 square-foot laboratory in Suzhou and a 10,000 square-foot laboratory and office in San Diego. The company has about 150 employees. Dr. Chun Wu, founder and CEO of Abgent, will continue to run the Abgent business unit post-acquisition as Vice President of Biological Reagent Products and Services.
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
"WuXi's acquisition of Abgent continues our strategy leveraging the advantages of our China-based operations to provide high-quality services and products needed by the world's biopharmaceutical and scientific researchers," said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi. "WuXi's mission is to build a platform that will allow anyone and any company to discover and develop drugs more efficiently and cost effectively for patients. Under Chun's leadership, Abgent has built a successful integrated development and production platform of catalog and customized antibody reagents for the global research reagent market. WuXi's broad capabilities and customer relationships can take Abgent to the next level. I am very excited about this small but strategically important acquisition and look forward to working with Chun to better the way future research reagents will be supplied."
"We at Abgent are excited by the opportunity to join WuXi PharmaTech to achieve the vision of creating a comprehensive, integrated R&D platform to serve the worldwide pharmaceutical industry and research community," said Dr. Wu, founder and CEO of Abgent.
About WuXi PharmaTech
WuXi PharmaTech is a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device R&D outsourcing company, with operations in China and the United States. As a research-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi PharmaTech provides pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies with a broad and integrated portfolio of laboratory and manufacturing services throughout the drug and medical device R&D process. WuXi PharmaTech's services are designed to help its global partners in shortening the cycle and lowering the cost of drug and medical device R&D. The operating subsidiaries of WuXi PharmaTech are known as WuXi AppTec.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release contain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the strategic rationale for, and anticipated benefits of, the Abgent acquisition and the expected growth in Abgent's target market.
These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only our belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Our actual results may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated benefits, results and financial contributions indicated in these forward-looking statements. Among other transaction specific factors, we may not recognize fully the anticipated benefits of the transaction, the Abgent business may not perform, or Abgent's target market may not grow, as expected and there may be unexpected costs or difficulties in integrating the Abgent business or in retaining its employees and management. In addition, our business and industry face other difficulties and risks including the state of the global economy may continue to be uncertain; pharmaceutical companies may not change their business models as expected or in a manner favorable to us; we may fail to capitalize on the opportunities presented; the pressures being felt by our customers and pharmaceutical industry consolidation may adversely impact our business and the trends for outsourced and offshored R&D and manufacturing for longer than expected or more severely than expected; we may be unable to successfully make our planned investments and capital expenditures on a timely basis; these investments may not yield the desired results and we may need to modify the nature and level of our investments and capital expenditures; we may not maintain our preferred provider status with our clients and may be unable to successfully expand our capabilities to meet client needs; and we may face increased margin pressure as a result of renminbi appreciation and increased labor inflation in China. You should read the financial information contained in this release in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included in our 2010 Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov. For additional information on these and other important factors that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, see "Risk Factors" beginning on page 6 of our 2010 Annual Report on Form 20-F. All projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to us, which is subject to change. Although these projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release, except as required by law. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.
