 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| |
| Industry | Contract Research Organizations Pharmaceutical Biopharmaceutical Medical Devices |
| Founded | 2000; 25 years ago (2000) |
| Headquarters | Shanghai,China |
Key people | Ge Li |
| Website | www |
WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. (WuXi is pronounced asWu-shee) is a Chinese provider of contract research, development, and manufacturing, services for thepharmaceutical and life-sciences industry, headquartered inShanghai, China. The company operates research and manufacturing facilities in Asia, North America, and Europe.
Founded in 2000 by chemist Ge Li as WuXi PharmaTech, the company expanded through acquisitions and re‑listings in 2018 after a 2015 take‑private. It produces a large part of the ingredients used in treatments for illnesses includingleukemia,lymphoma,HIV, andobesity.[1]
WuXi PharmaTech was founded in December 2000 in Shanghai by organic chemistGe Li.[2][3] The company initially focused on chemistry services.[4][5]
In 2007, the company launched an initial public offering in the U.S. with shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "WX."[6] That year, it also opened chemistry facilities inTianjin.[7]
In 2008, WuXi PharmaTech acquired AppTec Laboratory Services Inc., a US-based company founded in 2001 with expertise in medical-device and biologics testing and with facilities in St. Paul, MN; Philadelphia, PA; and Atlanta, GA. In the same year the company was renamed WuXi AppTec.[8][9] WuXi AppTec opened a toxicology facility inSuzhou in 2009.[10]
WuXi AppTec's subsidiary, WuXi STA, opened a large-scale manufacturing facility in Jinshan in 2010. The company began a biologics discovery, development, and manufacturing operation inShanghai andWuxi City in 2011. At the same year, WuXi AppTec acquired MedKey, a China-based clinical research company,[11] andAbgent, a San Diego company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of antibodies for biological research and drug discovery.[12] In 2012, WuXi AppTec opened a chemistry facility inWuhan and a GMP biologics drug-substance facility in Wuxi City. That year WuXi AppTec also entered into a joint venture withMedImmune, the biologics arm ofAstraZeneca, to co-develop MEDI5117, an anti-IL6 antibody forrheumatoid arthritis for the Chinese market.[13] In 2013, WuXi AppTec formed a joint venture with the global clinicalcontract research organization PRA International (now calledPRA Health Sciences) to build a clinical research business in China.[14]
In 2014, WuXi AppTec opened a new biologics biosafety testing facility inSuzhou. In the same year, WuXi AppTec acquiredXenoBiotic Laboratories, Inc. (XBL), a contract research organization with 27 years of operation that provides bioanalytical, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetic services to the pharmaceutical, animal health, and agrochemical industries.[15]
In 2015, WuXi AppTec and other Chinese firms delisted their stocks from U.S. exchanges in a bid to obtain higher valuations closer to home.[16] WuXi AppTec completed its merger with WuXi Merger Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of New WuXi Life Science Limited. As a result of the merger, New WuXi Life Science Limited acquired the company in a cash transaction valued at approximately US$3.3 billion.[17] In 2016, WuXi STA opened a new campus inChangzhou[18] and operations in San Diego. In the same year, WuXi AppTec acquired Crelux GmbH, a structure-based drug discovery provider based inMunich, Germany.[19] In 2017, WuXi AppTec acquired HD Biosciences (HDB), a biology focused preclinical drug discovery contract research organization (CRO).[20]
In 2015, the company launched the subsidiary WuXi NextCODE following the acquisition ofNextCODE Health, abioinformaticsstartup company which emerged from the Icelandic firm deCODE genetics in 2013.[21] Later, in 2019, WuXi NextCODE separated from WuXi AppTec in response to new regulations in China, and became Genuity Science. This company was then acquired by the New York biotech firm HiberCell in August 2021.[22]
In 2017, WuXi AppTec's biologics division,WuXi Biologics, was spun off and listed on theHong Kong Stock Exchange.[23] In 2018, WuXi AppTec itself completed an initial public offering inShanghai, raising over $900 million, and then subsequently listed shares in Hong Kong for an initial valuation of $1 billion.[24][25]
In 2019, WuXi AppTec acquired Pharmapace, a U.S.-based biometrics and clinical data company.[26]
In 2020, WuXi STA opened a newoligonucleotide API plant inChangzhou.[27] The next year, the subsidiary acquired a tablet and capsule manufacturing plant inSwitzerland fromBristol Myers Squibb.[28]
In 2021, WuXi AppTec acquired Oxgene, a UK-based cell and gene therapy firm.[29] In 2022, the firm announced plans to develop a manufacturing site inMiddletown, Delaware, as well as a $1.4 billion facility expansion inSingapore.[30][31] The company also opened a high-potency API facility inJiangsu, China.[32]
In January 2024, WuXi AppTec's share price fell on news that theUnited States Congress had introduced legislation to block any federal government contracts with the company due to national security concerns.[33][34][35] The concerns stem from allegations, denied by the company, that it has worked closely with thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) as a part of theChinese Communist Party (CCP)'smilitary-civil fusion strategy.[36] On February 12, 2024, the chair and ranking member of theUnited States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party joined SenatorsGary Peters andBill Hagerty in urging the Departments of the Treasury, Defense, and Commerce to review WuXi AppTec andWuXi Biologics for sanctions and to consider adding them to U.S. control lists.[37] WuXi AppTec denied any affiliation with the CCP and PLA and launched a lobbying campaign in the US in response.[38] On March 28, 2024,Reuters reported—citing two sources familiar with a classified briefing led by U.S. intelligence and diplomatic officials—that WuXi AppTec had transferred a U.S. client’s intellectual property to Chinese authorities without consent; WuXi AppTec denied any unauthorized transfers and said it complies with U.S. law.[39]
In October 2024, WuXi AppTec was reportedly considering selling its facilities in the U.S. and Europe due to theBiosecure Act, which has been discouraging potential clients.[40] In December 2024, WuXi AppTec announced that it would sell its Oxford Genetics (Oxgene) and WuXi Advanced Therapies to a U.S.-based private equity firm.[41][42] In January 2025, the company divested its U.S. medical device testing operations, with locations in Minnesota and Georgia, to the medical device contract research organization NAMSA.[43]
WuXi AppTec provides a range of services, including drug discovery, development, and manufacturing for small molecules, peptides and more.[4][44] As of 2025, the company reported around 39,000 employees and 6,000 customers.[45] WuXi AppTec's global network includes 20 sites, with major hubs in China, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Singapore.[46][45] Clients have included Chinese drugmakers likeJiangsu Hengrui, along with American and European firms likeGlaxoSmithKline,AstraZeneca andPfizer.[47]
WuXi Apptec is listed on theShanghai Stock Exchange and theHong Kong Stock Exchange, and is a component of theHang Seng Index.[48][49][50]
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