WuXi Biologics Achieves Breakthrough Titer of 51g/L in Cell Culture Productivity

- Enables 1,000L disposable bioreactors to achieve comparable productivity as traditional 10,000-20,000L stainless bioreactors through WuXiUP

- Achieves ultra-high productivity while enabling a similar purification yield of traditional purification process

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WuXi Biologics

Dec 11, 2018, 18:51 ET

SHANGHAI, Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics (2269.HK), a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, today announced that it has achieved a breakthrough in cell culture productivity for an Fc-fusion protein. The cell culture has a productivity of 2.5g/L/day and 51g/L bioreactor volume in a proprietary 20-day continuous cell culture process called WuXiUP (Ultra-high Productivity). This is more than 10 times productivity of 3-5g/L of traditional fed-batch process. This technology is being scaled up to GMP production and will be deployed throughout WuXi Biologics' global manufacturing network in China (Wuxi City and Shanghai), Ireland, Singapore and North America.

The breakthrough WuXiUP process couples continuous cell culture operations with continuous column chromatography, which also enables a similar purification yield of traditional purification process. With this technology, a 1,000L disposable bioreactor can produce more than 30kg of mAb per batch and approximately 500kg per year. This exciting new technology enables 1,000L disposable bioreactors to achieve similar productivity as traditional 10,000-20,000L stainless bioreactors. This will expedite product launch and significantly reduce the Cost of Goods of a commercial product.

"We are excited about this breakthrough in cell culture productivity and becoming a global leader in continuous biomanufacturing. WuXi Biologics has been well recognized as a global technology leader in the development and manufacturing of biologics and we continue to innovate and invest in game-changing technologies to be ahead of the curve for our global client base," said Dr. Chris Chen, Chief Executive Officer of WuXi Biologics. "Developing next-generation manufacturing technologies to improve affordability of biologics is aligned with our mission of accelerating and transforming how biologics are developed and manufactured within the global setting."

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK), 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. As of June 30, 2018, there were a total of 187 integrated projects, including 98 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 78 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 10 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and 1 project in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity of biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, Singapore and US reaching 220,000 liters by 2021, we will provide our biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network. For more information on WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com.

SOURCE WuXi Biologics