WuXi XDC raises $520m in IPO; eyes Singapore and China expansions

Bioconjugation-focused CDMO WuXi XDC rose 39% in its first day of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

WuXi XDC started off its life as part of WuXi Biologics, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biologic drug development, which was in turn started by WuXi AppTec, a contract research organization (CRO) for drug development that helped to make China drug development globally respectable.

Having staged the IPO earlier this month, WuXi XDC says it intends to use the proceeds from the IPO to build facilities in Singapore and expand manufacturing capacity in China, pursue strategic partnerships and investment and acquisition opportunities, and advance its technology platforms.

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WuXi XDC offers end-to-end services – from discovery to commercial production in bioconjugation. One month ago, WuXi Biologics, the parent of WuXi XDC, launched a proprietary bioprocessing platform, WuXiUI, that features a 3 to 6-fold increase in productivity and a 60-80% savings in cost of goods sold compared to traditional fed-batch processes in single-use bioreactors. WuXi Bio developed an innovative ultra-intensified intermittent-perfusion fed-batch (UI-IPFB) technology for WuXiUI. The process can be used for mAbs, bispecifics and recombinant proteins, according to the company.

In the IPO, the company issued 178,446,000 shares at a price of HK$20.60 per share (the high-end of the range). It expects to raise HK$4,071 million in gross proceeds presuming the over-allotment option will be exercised for 19,158,500 additional shares.

“The successful listing of WuXi XDC on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange marks another important milestone for the company,” said Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics and chairman of WuXi XDC.

“Having witnessed firsthand the evolution of the company, from identifying unmet needs in the bioconjugate industry to establishing WuXi XDC as a trusted partner in this sector, I am excited for what the future holds. We are grateful for the trust and support of our global investors, customers, and partners as we continue to grow and evolve.”

Jimmy Li, CEO of WuXi XDC, added: “We are excited to embark on WuXi XDC’s next chapter. With our vision – linking innovation to health – we have built an industry-leading open and integrated technology platform with end-to-end bioconjugation capabilities. I would like to thank all the staff of WuXi XDC for their unremitting efforts. With this new start, we strive to accelerate our growth in capabilities and capacity, strengthen our position in the sector, and continue to advance our efforts to enable innovation and benefit patients worldwide.”

WuXi XDC’s services span from antibody intermediates and other biologics intermediates, chemical payloads and linkers, to bioconjugate drug substances and drug products. With integrated capabilities and efficiencies, WuXi XDC has significantly shortened the ADC development timeline – taking only 13-15 months from antibody DNA sequence to IND filing, nearly cutting in half the average industry timeline.

As of June 2023, 110 on-going integrated projects were under development at WuXi XDC, including 47 post-IND bioconjugate candidates and 16 projects in Phase II/III development.

A version of this article was first published in ChinaBio Today on November 17 2023