WuXi Biologics to open its first manufacturing facility outside of China in Dundulk

The Chinese biopharmaceutical manufacturer, WuXi Biologics, has announced that it will be constructing a biologics drug substance manufacturing facility in Dundalk, Ireland.

The firm’s first site outside of its domestic country is anticipated to create more than 700 jobs.

The Irish Government will support the facility through its Industrial Development Authority.

The site, which will be compatible with continuous bioprocessing technology, will also include multiple single-use bioreactors for commercial biomanufacturing.

The facility will be the largest in the world using single-use bioreactors, and will feature a capacity of 48,000-litre fed batch and 6,000-litre perfusion bioreactor.

“We are all excited to initiate our first global site to enable local companies and expedite biologics development in Europe,” commented Dr Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics.

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“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.”

“This huge €325m (£285m) investment is a great vote of confidence in Ireland and reinforces our image as a global centre of excellence in Biologics,” noted Heather Humphreys, Ireland’s Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation.

“This investment will result in the creation of over 400 highly skilled jobs over five years as well as approximately 700 construction jobs.”