WuXi's bioconjugation spinoff is set to break free onto the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this month, with plans to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds back into its Asian manufacturing network.
WuXi XDC is planning to sell 178.45 million in shares in an upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO) in a bid to rake in 3.68 billion Hong Kong dollars ($470.5 million), according to a prospectus filing (PDF). The stock is expected to start trading on the Hong Kong Exchange on Nov. 17.
Aside from potential acquisitions, much of what WuXi XDC reaps will go back into the company’s production facilities in the Chinese city of WuXi and Singapore, the company said.
At the China site, WuXi XDC aims to bolster capabilities and capacity to encompass “full-spectrum” operations from antibody intermediates to drug products, with the overall goal of becoming self-sufficient and developing enough capacity for multiple late-stage projects.
Specifically, the company says it’s building additional facilities in WuXi for clinical or commercial manufacturing, including a new production line and reaction kettles capable of handling projects ranging from 5 liters to 100 liters.
The company has big plans for Singapore, too, where it hopes to set up a “manufacturing base” and roll out a “global dual sourcing” strategy.
Four production lines are planned for the Singapore site for clinical and commercial manufacturing, WuXi XDC said. The company says it’s started the design of the Singapore site and hopes to kick off manufacturing operations there by 2026.
WuXi Bio and WuXi STA unveiled their XDC spinoff plans back in July. As a standalone company, WuXi XDC will be equipped to tackle contract research, development and manufacturing of bioconjugates, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), antibodies and other biologic intermediates, the companies said.
After cutting its teeth on ADCs, WuXi XDC plans to follow up with capabilities across “all bioconjugates,” such as peptide conjugates, oligo conjugates and chemical conjugates, the company said over the summer.
As a WuXi Bio subsidiary, WuXi XDC’s financial performance will continue to fall under the umbrella of WuXi Bio’s earnings statements. For the year that ended Dec. 31, 2022, WuXi XDC’s revenue only accounted for some 6.5% of WuXi Bio’s total sales haul.