BRIEF—WuXi Vaccines investing $240 million in Irish manufacturing facility

China’s WuXi Biologics, a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development, and manufacturing, announced that its subsidiary WuXi Vaccines, engaged in human vaccine Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) business, is to invest $240 million in building a new vaccine manufacturing facility in Ireland.

This investment follows the 20-year manufacturing Letter of Intent (LOI) signed by WuXi Vaccines earlier this year.

Under the LOI, this new dedicated vaccine manufacturing facility, including drug substance manufacturing (MFG15), drug product manufacturing (DP5) as well as Quality Control labs (QC), will supply a vaccine product of a large global pharma for the global market.

The new vaccine manufacturing facility, subject to planning approval, will be located within the WuXi Biologics Campus adjacent to the "Factory of the Future" biologics drug substance manufacturing facility in Dundalk, which is scheduled for commercial manufacturing in 2021.