SHANGHAI, Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: WX), a leading open-access R&D capability and technology platform company serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries with operations in China and the United States, announced that it has entered into a syndicated loan facility to borrow up to $165 million from a consortium of banks in Asia led by Citibank. The borrowing will incur interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.89%, including all expenses, and will be repaid in four installments over 18-36 months.
"This new loan agreement provides WuXi with the resources to invest in several new business opportunities without impacting the strong growth of our current operations," said Edward Hu, Chief Financial Officer of WuXi PharmaTech. "To meet the growing demand of our services, we are building:
- small-molecule manufacturing facilities in Changzhou that will double our current capacity by late 2015 or early 2016 and that will cost nearly $150 million
- biologics commercial manufacturing facilities in Wuxi city that will also cost nearly $150 million and be completed by late 2016
- two cell-therapy manufacturing facilities in Philadelphia that will cost about $40 million
Our capital spending was approximately $110 million in 2014 and will be approximately $200 million in 2015. We have used cash in 2014 and 2015 to make two acquisitions--XenoBiotic Laboratories, Inc., for $37.5 million and NextCODE Health for $65 million."
"The new debt facility will enable us to make the investments necessary for our company to achieve its full potential," said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi PharmaTech. "While continuously strengthening our existing capabilities, we also see new investment opportunities in the rapidly growing China healthcare market. We need to invest aggressively to extend our research and development capabilities to hospitals, doctors, and patients to capture many of these exciting opportunities."
About WuXi PharmaTech
WuXi PharmaTech (NYSE: WX) is a leading open-access R&D capability and technology platform company serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, 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. WuXi is also building a platform to provide clinical diagnostic services directly to physicians and their patients globally. The operating subsidiaries of WuXi PharmaTech are known as WuXi AppTec. For further information, please visit http://www.wuxiapptec.com.
Contacts:
Ronald Aldridge
Director of Investor Relations
WuXi PharmaTech
+1 201-585-2048
[email protected]
Aaron Shi
Director of Corporate Communications
WuXi PharmaTech
+86 21-5046-4362
[email protected]
SOURCE WuXi PharmaTech
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