WuXi Biologics revealed plans to build an integrated biologics development, clinical and commercial manufacturing center in the city of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province in northern China.

The new state-of-the-art biologics center will include process development labs, a clinical manufacturing facility with 5,000 liter bioreactor capacity and a commercial manufacturing facility with 48,000 liter bioreactor capacity, which will be built to meet cGMP standards of the U.S., the EU, and China. The company said besides serving global clients, the new integrated center will also support the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) system in China and address needs of Chinese partners. The initial phase of the center will be operational in 2020.

“We are very pleased to establish the largest biologics center in northern China, which will enable local companies to more effectively develop and manufacture biologics and in the meantime provide a robust supply chain network for our global clients. This expansion will allow us great access to local talents, markets and government support,” said Chris Chen, chief executive officer, WuXi Biologics. “With this investment and current 161 biologics programs that WuXi Biologics will manufacture, we will quickly and cost effectively expand our manufacturing capacity to meet our partners’ needs and become one of the global CMO leaders.”