New | Cancer treatment start-up BeiGene opens first manufacturing plant, in Suzhou
With two major international industry endorsements already in the bag, after just five years in existence, firm says while remaining committed to having China as its core manufacturing base it is also open to building facilities overseas
BeiGene, the Beijing-based biopharmaceutical start-up, has completed the building of its first own manufacturing plant in the city – a key step in the Nasdaq-listed company’s transformation from clinical-stage developer to commercial maker of cancer medicines.
The new facility in Suzhou Industrial Park, in Jiangsu province, cost 200 million yuan (US$30.2 million) which will help the company to feature capabilities in the whole value chain – discovery, development, industrialised production and sales – of molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology drugs for cancer treatment. It has taken two years to build.
“This marks a key milestone for a journey [for us] as a commercial company,” said John V. Oyler, co-founder and chief executive of BeiGene on Wednesday.
This marks a key milestone for a journey [for us] as a commercial company
The factory is already capable of industrial production of two small molecule drug candidates that the Wall Street darling is developing.
One is “BGB-3111” for the treatment of a variety of lymphomas, the most common form of blood cancer. The other is “BGB-290”, which can be used for the treatment of a number of conditions, including breast cancer.
The five-storey site will also support the supply of antibody medicine for clinical-stage application in the future.
BeiGene listed on Nasdaq in 2016 and now has a market cap of around US$3.7 billion. The cancer biology platform has so far developed four clinical-stage therapies.