Pfizer Exits Biosimilars Manufacturing in China, Sells Hangzhou Facility to WuXi Biologics

On March 17, Pfizer announced that it had decided to cease the production of biosimilars in China and would sell its biologics manufacturing facility in Hangzhou to WuXi Biologics.

Pfizer invested $350 million in 2016 to establish this biosimilar manufacturing base in Hangzhou, China, marking its third global biotechnology center. A Pfizer spokesperson stated that the center was originally planned to produce three biosimilars in China: biosimilars of Roche’s Avastin and Herceptin, and AbbVie’s Humira.

Under the agreement signed by both parties, WuXi Biologics will take over Pfizer’s Hangzhou manufacturing plant and the Pfizer employees stationed at the facility. Neither Pfizer nor WuXi Biologics has disclosed the transaction amount or the specific drugs to be produced after the deal is completed. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the first half of this year.

Furthermore, we have learned that WuXi Biologics is also producing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for the AstraZeneca vaccine, supplying them to Brazil. As for whether this production facility will be used for the manufacturing of AstraZeneca vaccine APIs, the company has not yet responded.