WuXi AppTec (WuXi is pronounced as ''Wu-shee'') is a global

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

, and

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

company.

History

WuXi PharmaTech was founded in December 2000 in Shanghai by organic chemist Ge Li. The company opened chemistry facilities in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

in 2007. 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. WuXi AppTec opened a toxicology facility in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

in 2009. 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 in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and Wuxi City in 2011. At the same year, WuXi AppTec acquired MedKey, a China-based clinical research company, and Abgent, a San Diego company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of antibodies for biological research and drug discovery. In 2012, WuXi AppTec opened a chemistry facility in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

and a GMP biologics drug-substance facility in Wuxi City. That year WuXi AppTec also entered into a joint venture with

MedImmune MedImmune, LLC was a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca before February 14, 2019, when it was announced that the MedImmune name and branding would be discontinued in favor of AstraZeneca. MedImmune was founded in 1988 as Molecular Vaccines, ...

, the biologics arm of

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

, to co-develop MEDI5117, an anti-IL6 antibody for

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

for the Chinese market. In 2013, WuXi AppTec formed a joint venture with the global clinical

contract research organization In the life sciences, a contract research organization (CRO) is a company that provides support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries in the form of research services outsourced on a contract basis. A CRO may provid ...

PRA International (now called PRA Health Sciences) to build a clinical research business in China. In 2014, WuXi AppTec opened a new biologics biosafety testing facility in

. In the same year, WuXi AppTec acquired

XenoBiotic A xenobiotic is a chemical substance found within an organism that is not naturally produced or expected to be present within the organism. It can also cover substances that are present in much higher concentrations than are usual. Natural compo ...

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. In 2015, the company launched the subsidiary WuXi NextCODE following the acquisition of NextCODE Health, a

bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...

startup company A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses tha ...

which emerged from the Icelandic firm deCODE genetics in 2013. In 2015, 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. In 2016, WuXi STA opened a new campus in

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

and operations in San Diego. In the same year, WuXi AppTec acquired Crelux GmbH, a structure-based drug discovery provider based in

Munich, Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 2017, WuXi AppTec acquired HD Biosciences (HDB), a biology focused preclinical drug discovery contract research organization (CRO). In January 2024, WuXi AppTec's share price fell on news that the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

had introduced legislation to block any federal government contracts with the company due to national security concerns. The concerns stem from allegations, denied by the company, that it has worked closely with the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

(PLA) as a part of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP)'s

military-civil fusion Military-civil fusion (, MCF) or civil-military fusion is a strategy and policy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with the stated goal of developing its People's Liberation Army (PLA) into a world-class military. Military-civil fusion is a p ...

strategy. Members of the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party subsequently called for sanctions against WuXi AppTec. WuXi AppTec denied any affiliation with the CCP and PLA and launched a lobbying campaign in the US in response. According to the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, and

Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a Cabinet of the United States#Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials, cabinet-level Federal government of the United States, United States government intelligence and security official. The p ...

, WuXi AppTec transferred US intellectual property to the PLA without consent. In October 2024, WuXi AppTec was reportedly considering selling its facilities in the U.S. and Europe due to the Biosecure Act, which has been discouraging potential clients. In December 2024, WuXi AppTec announced that it would sell its Oxford Genetics and WuXi Advanced Therapies to a U.S.-based private equity firm.

References

{{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in Shanghai Pharmaceutical companies of China Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Companies in the FTSE China A50 Index Companies in the CSI 100 Index Pharmaceutical companies established in 2000 Contract research organizations Multinational companies headquartered in China Life sciences industry Chinese brands Chinese companies established in 2000 2000 in Wuxi