GE Healthcare is to manufacture single-use consumables for bioprocessing in Weihai, China in collaboration with Wego Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, one of the largest healthcare technology suppliers in the country. This collaboration will decrease product delivery times for Chinese biopharmaceutical companies, enhance customer support locally, and increase their access to a wide range of standard and custom single-use products to help them bring therapeutics to patients faster.
The first single-use consumables produced at Wego’s manufacturing facility will be available later this month, with continued offerings throughout 2019. All products will be manufactured using Fortem, GE Healthcare’s single-use platform film, which simplifies the customer validation and approval processes by incorporating GE’s full range of bioprocessing systems.
The Chinese biopharma market grew 8 percent in 2017* and the estimated annual growth rate (CAGR) for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is over 25 percent* for the coming years—the rapid development is supported by the Chinese government’s Made in China 2025 industry plan that emphasizes biotechnical innovation.
The collaboration with GE Healthcare will support the development of more affordable, high-quality therapeutics in China, according to Xian-feng Huang, general manager, Wego Pharmaceutical.
*IMS Data
(Source: GE Healthcare)