Scaling Biologics Innovation: How WuXi Biologics Became a Global CRDMO Partner

Download Frost & Sullivan’s Transformational Growth Leadership Discussion with Dr. Chris Chen, CEO, WuXi Biologics

Scaling Biologics Innovation: How WuXi Biologics Became a Global CRDMO Partner

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics in conversation with Unmesh Lal, Vice President, Frost & Sullivan

Recently, WuXi Biologics has been honored with Frost & Sullivan’s 2025 Global Customer Value Leadership Recognition in the biologics CRDMO industry. As the biopharmaceutical landscape evolves amid geopolitical shifts and increasing complexity in biologics development, few companies have scaled with the speed and resilience of WuXi Biologics. In this exclusive Transformational Growth Leadership (TGL) interview, Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, shares the company’s growth trajectory, digital-first mindset, and commitment to enabling biotech innovation globally.

A Unique Business Model

Unmesh Lal: Chris, can you briefly share WuXi Biologics’ journey from its founding to its current global presence, and what differentiates your strategic direction?

Chris Chen: Since our founding, our business has grown dramatically; revenue has grown over 60-fold and profits even more. We have expanded from 2,000 employees to 12,000. The key differentiator is our business model: we created the CDMO [Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization] model, serving emerging biotech firms and MNCs with development and manufacturing solutions. Over time, we expanded this to CRDMO [Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization]—Research leads to Development, which leads to Manufacturing. Our ability to execute is unmatched, achieving a 100% inspection success rate across major global regulatory agencies, including FDA [Food and Drug Administration], EMA [European Medicines Agency], and NMPA [National Medical Products Administration].

Digitally-driven Operations

Unmesh Lal: How is WuXi Biologics leveraging advanced digital technologies to enhance operations?

Chris Chen: Digital transformation is core to our strategy. For example, reports that once took 4-5 hours now take 4 minutes with digital systems. Clients have real-time access to manufacturing data and can intervene if needed. Everything—from data sharing to invoicing—is fully digitized, making operations faster and more transparent.

We also integrate predictive analytics to optimize batch production and minimize deviations. Our in-house digital teams have developed custom dashboards for clients to track progress in real time, which boosts client confidence and operational agility. The transparency we provide is a major reason many clients prefer our platform over traditional CDMO approaches.

Innovation in Modalities: Monoclonals, Antibody-drug Conjugates (ADCs), and More

Unmesh Lal: With strength in monoclonal antibodies and ADCs, what’s next for your modality innovation?

Chris Chen: Near term, we are doubling down on mAbs [monoclonal antibodies] and ADCs—there’s still a lot of ground to cover. We have also made strategic investments in microbial facilities, expanding modality capabilities.

For ADCs in particular, we are focused on improving linker-payload stability, which is crucial for efficacy and safety. Our microbial facility expansion supports vaccine manufacturing and enzyme-based therapies, giving us flexibility across therapeutic categories. Our philosophy is to invest early in scalable platforms that align with future client demand.

Growth and Financial Momentum

Unmesh Lal: Can you share WuXi Biologics’ recent financial performance and growth outlook?

Chris Chen: In the first half of 2025, we achieved solid and profitable growth, delivering a 16.1% YOY increase in revenue and expanding operating margin. Our COVID business once made up 20% of revenue, so post-COVID normalization is now behind us.

From Development to Commercialization

Unmesh Lal: How is WuXi Biologics progressing from INDs [Investigational New Drug Applications] to commercial programs?

Chris Chen: Last year alone, we delivered 134 INDs globally; this year we are targeting 150 INDs. We also have over 20 commercial programs now. Back in 2017, manufacturing was only 10% of revenue. Last year, it grew to 40%, and over the next five years, it could become our biggest revenue contributor.

This growth is not just quantitative: it reflects increasing complexity in the programs we support. Our team has handled over 330 first-in-class programs and facilitated more than 25 tech transfers for late-stage programs. Clients benefit from our regulatory service units that provide support for IND submissions across the FDA, EMA, and NMPA. Commercial readiness is embedded into early-stage development, helping avoid costly scale-up issues later. We have seen that the faster we help our clients cross the IND milestone, the sooner they can attract partners or capital for the next phase.

“We have built a model where small biotechs can go from idea to IND to commercial launch, all within one integrated platform. That’s the unique value of WuXi Biologics.”

— Dr. Chris Chen, CEO, WuXi Biologics

Investing in Global Footprint

Unmesh Lal: What are your future expansion plans?

Chris Chen: We are investing in Ireland, the U.S., Singapore, and Germany to serve clients locally. All new facilities are organic growth initiatives.

Leading in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG): The Greenest Biomanufacturing Site

Unmesh Lal: ESG is becoming central at CDMO events. What are WuXi Biologics’ ESG highlights?

Chris Chen: We ranked in the top 1% globally across all ESG ratings and #2 in the pharmaceutical sector, according to Sustainalytics. Our Ireland facility is one of the greenest biomanufacturing sites on the planet, using 100% green energy and designed for efficient, sustainable manufacturing.

Final Thoughts: The Road Ahead

Unmesh Lal: In three words, how would you define WuXi Biologics moving forward?

Chris Chen: Accelerated growth. Enabling biotech innovation. Global footprint. Our aim is to be more than a service provider—we want to be a trusted enabler for biotech innovation everywhere. That means staying agile, investing in regional capabilities, and continuously upgrading our scientific and digital toolkits. Whether it’s helping a startup file its first IND or supporting a multinational with commercial-scale manufacturing, we bring the same level of precision and partnership. We believe the future of biologics will be decentralized, digital, and deeply collaborative and that’s exactly what we are building toward.

Closing Reflection

As WuXi Biologics deepens its global footprint, empowers biotech and pharma, and maintains industry-leading execution and ESG practices, Dr. Chris Chen’s leadership offers a blueprint for scalable, innovation-driven growth in the CRDMO space.