Build Locally, Impact Globally: WuXi AppTec Continues to Increase Capacity amid Demand Growth

On June 4, 2026, WuXi AppTec’s drug product manufacturing site in Middletown, Del., hosted an Open House preview event. Customers and partners from around the world were invited into the site, where equipment commissioning and validation are still underway. Visitors had the opportunity to observe the oral solid dosage (OSD) plants up close, covering every step from manufacturing to packaging and labeling. Each operation is equipped with industry-proven and reliable machinery, and strictly adheres to a globally consistent quality management system.

The OSD manufacturing facilities are expected to be available in Q4 of this year; the sterile filling manufacturing will come online in 2027.

“This will be WuXi AppTec’s largest U.S. facility,” said Dr. Xiaoyong Fu, Executive Vice President of WuXi AppTec. “We expect to be operational by the end of 2026, providing global clients with oral solid dosage manufacturing services ranging from early-stage to commercial.”

Capacity Challenges Amid the Trend Toward Complex Molecules

“Five years ago, clients asked, ‘Can you do it?’ Two years ago, they asked, ‘Can you do it faster?’ Now, the most common question is, ‘Do you have enough capacity to launch a project at any time?’”

In a recent interview, Dr. Fu used this contrast to illustrate a major shift in industry demand that he has observed over the past several years.

This shift reflects deeper trends in the industry. The fundamental logic of global pharmaceutical innovation is undergoing meaningful change.

On one hand, the complexity of molecules is increasing significantly. Science is leading the industry to focus on novel molecules with more intricate structures and greater targeting specificity—innovative small molecule drugs (e.g., targeted protein degraders) are becoming more complex, while new complex modalities such as peptides, oligonucleotides, and various conjugates are emerging as industry hotspots.

These complex molecules often involve novel chemical reactions, numerous unit operations, highly customized process routes, and stricter quality control requirements. These factors pose significant challenges to the entire process -- from research to development to manufacturing, while also demanding greater problem-solving capabilities and larger manufacturing capacity.

Take peptides as an example. Traditional peptide synthesis often remained at the kilogram or hundred‑kilogram scale. However, with the prevalent use of peptide drugs to treat metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, demand has surged from kilograms to metric tons. The same is true for oligonucleotide drugs: as more indications are pursued, late-stage and commercial demand is growing rapidly.

The increasing complexity of innovative molecules is only part of the story. The other side is a fundamental shift in how the industry understands and demands capacity.

“In the past few years, we have seen client needs change as well,” said Dr. Fu. “Clients increasingly value—and seek out—partners who can quickly scale up processes and ensure supply stability. They care more and more about whether your capacity is flexible and resilient.”

Behind these words lies a practical challenge widely shared across the industry.

The journey of new drug development is long and complex. From target discovery to final market approval often takes more than a decade and billions of dollars in investment. Downstream manufacturing—the “last mile” in bringing new drugs to patients—has become a central topic of discussion and concern in the industry.

Capacity has become an important consideration limiting successful development and timely late-stage progress. Without sufficient, regulatory‑compliant capacity, the development of promising drug candidates could be delayed by months or even more than a year.

WuXi AppTec’s drug product manufacturing site in Middletown, Del.

This is not merely a matter of commercial loss. For patients awaiting new treatments, every day of delay may mean irreversible disease progression.

In other words, innovation increasingly depends on corresponding advances in manufacturing capabilities; otherwise, innovation remains confined to academic papers or laboratory benches and never becomes a clinically available medicine.

Building Global Capacity to Meet Growing Demand

Strengthening the resilience and flexibility of the global supply chain is a key priority for the pharmaceutical industry. From regulators to manufacturers, all parties are actively responding to capacity challenges. The European Medicines Agency, for example, has explicitly identified “flexibility” as a core value of advanced manufacturing to enhance the stability of medicine supply.

This industrial environment is also deeply influencing client priorities and decisions. “When we see that promising pipelines cannot reach patients as quickly as possible because of capacity constraints, capacity is no longer just ‘infrastructure’—it is an important link to patients,” said Dr. Fu. “That is why we are accelerating the build‑out of our capabilities and capacity scale to respond to our clients’ needs.”

In the small molecule field, as of the end of 2025, the total volume of WuXi AppTec’s small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) reactor capacity exceeded 4,000 kL. 

In the TIDES sector, a similar upward trend can be seen. At the end of 2025, the total solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) reactor volume exceeded 100,000 liters, completed ahead of schedule, and is now expanding to 130,000 liters. The total solid phase oligonucleotide synthesis (SPOS) reactor scale also exceeded 8 mol. Based on existing capacity and client demand, the WuXi TIDES platform, an integral part of WuXi AppTec, expects full-year growth of about 40% year-over-year.

Over the next two years, WuXi AppTec plans to gradually increase its drug substance and drug product manufacturing capacity across its integrated CRDMO platform in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

In the U.S., the Middletown, Del., site expects to begin oral solid dosage manufacturing in the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by sterile/injectable production in the fourth quarter of 2027.

In Europe, expansion at the Couvet site in Switzerland is advancing in parallel. Drug product manufacturing and packaging capacity at the site will be further increased to meet growing commercial demand. A new spray-drying facility (PSD-4) is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2026, with subsequent addition of sterile injectable capabilities.

In Asia, capacity development is also progressing. At the Taixing site in China, one new small molecule API plant began operation in May 2026, and another small molecule plant will come online later in 2026. Two additional plants focused on oligonucleotides, peptides, and PMO production are currently under construction and expected to be operational in 2027. At the same time, the company has also advanced plans to begin construction of a new API manufacturing site in Changzhou—in response to client demand and industry trends.

Construction at the Singapore site is also accelerating, with operations similarly expected to begin in 2027. This site will further enhance the global flexibility of API supply and better support commercial manufacturing of small molecules, oligonucleotides, peptides, and related synthetic conjugates. Currently, three new TIDES plants are under construction in Taixing and in Singapore.

To meet growing customer demand globally, WuXi AppTec is increasing its capital expenditure by at least 17% in 2026 to between USD 0.96 billion and USD 1.11 billion.

Behind these actions lies an unchanged commitment: enabling global clients to bring innovative therapies to patients faster. During the Open House event, Dr. Fu reiterated that, guided by this goal, WuXi AppTec adheres to a globally consistent quality system, offers clients more flexible options, and helps build more robust supply capabilities and networks. “Everything we do,” he said, “is ultimately to help our clients achieve this goal together.”

“By inviting clients here, we want them not only to see and experience firsthand the progress of this site, but also to share with them our confidence and expectations for the future of the entire industry,” he added.

For WuXi AppTec, this is just another new beginning. In its journey of global capability development, more sites are being built, more technologies are being advanced, and more needs are being met.