WuXi AppTec Completes Acquisition of OXGENE

(VCBeat) Mar. 2, 2021 -- WuXi AppTec today announced that it has completed the acquisition of OXGENE, a United Kingdom-based gene therapy technology company. The acquisition will further expand WuXi AppTec's technological capabilities in cell and gene therapies, providing integrated and end-to-end development and production services of cell and gene therapy products to clients, and facilitating the development of innovative therapies for patients around the world.

Through the acquisition, WuXi Advanced Therapies (WuXi ATU), WuXi AppTec's cell and gene therapy Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CTDMO) business unit. At the same time, OXGENE will retain its name and become WuXi ATU's first research and production facility in Europe. The addition of OXGENE will further improve WuXi ATU's integrated platform, enabling customers around the world to accelerate the development, testing, production and commercialization of cell and gene therapy products and continue to bring more innovative therapies to market in early time.

Since its inception in 2011, OXGENE has provided the cell and gene therapy market with highly effective drug discovery and production solutions through its innovative technologies, R&D services, and powerful scale production systems. In addition, Oxgene's novel Tessa technology for adeno-associated virus (AAV) production and the Xlenti solution for lentiviral manufacturing have not only improved the production efficiency of cell and gene therapy products, but also significantly reduced the cost.

OXGENE provides end-to-end services for cell and gene therapy companies from the discovery, development, testing, and scale production of innovative drug candidates. OXGENE uses its own technology and automated platform for molecular discovery and integrates the full range of technologies needed for cell and gene production to provide customers with fast, cost-effective and accurate services. OXGENE is recognized for its expertise in designing DNA sequences, optimizing protein expression, developing cell lines, and improving viral delivery systems.

WuXi AppTec provides comprehensive and integrated services in the development and production of new drugs for the global biomedical industry. Through cooperation with global pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, WuXi AppTec is committed to driving the process of drug discovery and development to bring breakthrough treatments to patients. WuXi AppTec helps its customers improve their R&D efficiency through cost-effective and efficient R&D services, which cover chemical drug R&D and production, cell and gene therapy R&D and production, medical device testing and other fields. Currently, WuXi AppTec's platform supports more than 4,100 R&D and innovation projects from more than 30 countries.