WuXi Bio boasts higher yields, lower costs with bioprocessing tech

CDMO WuXi Biologics has launched WuXiUI, a bioprocessing platform it says features a 60-80% savings in COGS compared to traditional fed-batch processes in single-use bioreactors.

According to contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), the platform is able to produce such savings in cost of goods sold through a three-to-six-fold increase in productivity.

This, the firm says, is due to an ultra-intensified intermittent-perfusion fed-batch (UI-IPFB) strategy for WuXiUI, which improves the productivity and quality of different CHO or other mammalian cell lines for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), bispecifics, and recombinant proteins.

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WuXi Bio – which is no stranger to developing high titer platforms, having broken 50g/L with continuous CHO process back in 2019 – said it developed the WuXiUI platform to satisfy demands for yield improvement, COGS reduction, and ESG concerns of clients. Using the technology, a titer of a bispecific antibody achieved 25 g/L in 14 days – 5 times higher than the same-scale traditional fed-batch process – with expected product quality.

The company said the platform is easily adopted and can be scaled up/out in existing facilities without requiring major equipment or complex operations and causing only minor changes to the downstream process. In addition, WuXiUI has a lower carbon footprint than traditional or other intensified fed-batch processes due to more efficient media consumption and reduced waste generation.

“We are pleased to launch the WuXiUI platform to provide diverse bioprocessing solutions for global clients that enhance productivity and product quality, and tremendously reduce product COGs,” said Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics.

“WuXi Biologics’ continual launch of new technology platforms comes from our drive to push boundaries and foster innovation – all with the goal of enabling our global partners to bring more high-quality and affordable biologics to patients worldwide.”

In a recent BioPlan Associates report, the company said China is no longer the world’s low-cost biologics manufacturing leader. The research company says the average cost per gram for a primary recombinant protein in China rose from $207 in 2022 to $294 in 2023. Over the same period, the cost in the US fell from $291 in 2022 to $255. WuXi Bio’s new technology would change that calculation.

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