The Invisible Bridge: How DMPK Turns Chemistry into Cures

Editor’s Note: “Every drug can be made and every disease can be treated”. Over the past 25 years, from a single laboratory to a global network spanning Asia, Europe, and North America; from early chemical synthesis services to an integrated platform that connects Research (R), Development (D), and Manufacturing (M); from its very first customer to thousands of partners across more than 30 countries, WuXi AppTec has never stopped moving forward to realize its enduring vision. 

In tribute to the journey and in celebration of new beginnings, we look back through the eyes of our “dream-makers”: revisiting the stories of partnership that empowered global innovation, and the unique spirit that continues to guide us toward the next chapter.

Most patients never see the letters D-M-P-K on a pill bottle. But as Dr. Liang Shen explains, “we’re the ones who make sure the medicine you take actually works as intended.”

DMPK is short for Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, a long name for a simple concept: it studies what the body does to a drug. DMPK scientists look at four things: how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated. “We give scientists a pair of X-ray glasses,” Liang says. “We can see how a drug travels and changes inside the body.”

That goal brought Liang to WuXi AppTec in 2009. At that time, DMPK department only had over a hundred people working on two floors. “I wanted to help more compounds become drug candidates and raise the chance of clinical success,” he says.

Fifteen years later, that small team has grown tenfold big to one of the largest and most advanced DMPK organizations in the world. Today, it runs in vitro and in vivo DMPK studies, helping thousands of potential drugs move one step closer to becoming treatments for people everywhere.

A Platform That Follows the Molecule

In WuXi AppTec’s integrated model that connects Research, Development, and Manufacturing, Liang’s DMPK team is the bridge between drug discovery and clinical development.

“We follow both the clients and the molecules,” Liang explains. His team closely collaborates with upstream chemistry and biology departments to improve drug properties. At development stage, his team ensures projects move smoothly into IND-enabling and clinical phases.

In simple terms, his team helps a compound grow from an idea in the lab to a potential medicine. They design tests, measure exposure, predict how the drug will behave in the human body, and prepare the data that regulators eventually see on every approved drug label.

One of Liang’s favorite stories is an oncology drug WuXi AppTec supported from its first screening test all the way to market approval. “From the first test tube to the final commercialization,” he says, “we supported our client at every stage.”

That is just one example. Every year, tens of thousands of molecules pass through Liang’s department, but only a few make it to the finishing line. “Our job is to make sure the ones that do have a real chance to cure people,” he says.

This ability to predict how a drug will behave in humans based on early studies is what Liang calls “the start of good translation.” 

Each Piece Built for Speed

In drug research, people often say that you can only have two out of three things: speed, quality, and cost. Liang’s DMPK team works every day to prove that all three can exist together.

A biotech company once brought WuXi AppTec a challenge: it had 1,000 new compounds to test in just three months. Liang’s team designed a customized plan. They used automation platforms to run lab tests, kept data flowing around the clock, and coordinated studies in different facilities. The result: 5,000 compounds in vitro ADME assays and 1,000 compounds in vivo PK studies completed ahead of schedule.

“The client’s CEO told us, ‘Without WuXi AppTec, this kind of speed wouldn’t be possible,’” Liang recalls.

That speed doesn’t happen by chance; it’s built into the system. Every part of WuXi AppTec’s DMPK operation is designed to move faster and smarter.

In 2015, WuXi DMPK started its digital revolution by building electronic platforms. Three years later, WuXi AppTec’s first fully automated ADME platform was launched. In 2022, the first fully automated self-designed PK sample preparation workstation started operation in DMPK’s Shanghai headquarter. 

“Automation isn’t about replacing scientists,” Liang explains. “It gives them more time to think.” As the department head, he knows the future trend of DMPK industry, and deeply understands the importance of digitalization and automation, and how they play important roles to improve data quality and operation efficiency. 

Today, WuXi DMPK’s automation has gone through five generations. The fully automated labs now run tens of thousands of samples every day, track quality in real time, and connect studies across sites. Clients who see it in action often describe it as “a space station for drug research.”

Making the Impossible Possible

For Liang, size and scale are just as important as speed when it comes to serving clients.

He still remembers one moment clearly. At Tokyo’s Narita Airport, while waiting for a flight to a major DMPK international conference in Hawaii, his phone buzzed. A new email arrived from a U.S. biotech company—urgent, detailed, and almost impossible. They needed a large study done within a few months, ideally starting in just two weeks.

Most companies would have turned it down. In this industry, big studies usually mean long lead time, often six to nine months before work can even begin.

But Liang didn’t hesitate. Standing in the airport terminal, he opened his laptop, called his team, and began planning: checking lab space, staff schedules, and material supplies.

By the time he landed in Hawaii, the plan was already taking shape. After the conference, he changed his travel plans and flew directly to Boston to meet the client. On the overnight flight, he kept revising the proposal until it was perfect. When they met, the client was impressed: not just by the plan, but by the commitment behind it.

The real success came afterward. Within ten days, the WuXi DMPK site was fully prepared: rooms ready, teams assigned, and every dosing schedule timed to the minute. The study started on time, finished in three months, and produced flawless data. The client reached its next fundraising milestone and has since returned to work with WuXi AppTec on three more big projects this year.

“It’s not about saying yes to everything,” Liang says, thinking back on that experience. “It’s about having a system that can deliver yes when it really counts.”

That system, built over WuXi AppTec’s 25-year journey, now defines its DMPK platform: more than a thousand scientists working across multiple sites, running tens of thousands of studies each year, quietly translating the science of how molecules move through the body into life-saving medicines for patients around the world.

Science Without Walls

But perhaps Liang’s most distinctive legacy lies not only in what his team has built, but what they’ve chosen to share.

“Drug development is changing faster than ever,” Liang says. New types of medicines like PROTAC®s, antibodies, XDCs, peptides, and oligonucleotides are appearing one after another. Yet there wasn’t a single DMPK book that clearly explained how to study these new modalities, what challenges might pop out, or how to solve them.

“Our team works on these frontier projects every day,” Liang says. “We’ve gathered huge amount of practical experience.” While many organizations keep such knowledge internally, Liang’s group decided to do the opposite. They partnered with Wiley, a leading global publisher, to release Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics: Frontiers, Strategies, and Applications.

“With this book, we wanted to share our strategies, lessons, and insights with the whole scientific community,” he explains. “If others can learn from our experience and avoid common mistakes, that helps everyone move faster. It’s our responsibility to give back to the industry.”

The book quickly became a trusted reference for scientists and researchers. “Knowledge only grows when it’s shared,” Liang says. “We’re not afraid of being copied. Our strength is that we never stop moving forward.”



The response was beyond expectations. Within weeks of its release, printed copies sold out at major scientific conferences. “People were scanning QR codes to order it right at our booth,” he smiles.

By summer, more than 1,500 copies had been distributed worldwide, each one quietly spreading WuXi AppTec’s philosophy: empowering not just clients, but the entire scientific community. 

A Collective Impact

When asked what comes next, Liang’s thoughts return to DMPK itself.

“As people age, their metabolism slows, and that changes how drugs work,” he explains. “DMPK will play a key role in designing precision medicines for older adults, for chronic illnesses, and even for healthy aging.”

He’s also watching new types of molecules like degraders, oligonucleotides, and peptides come together with digital technologies. “The next frontier isn’t just measuring the endpoints,” he says. “It’s being able to understand it in real time.”

For Liang, his years at WuXi AppTec have never been about personal achievement, but about creating impact together. “Here, we support thousands of research programs,” he says. “Through WuXi AppTec, my work helps the whole industry move faster.”