As New Drug Modalities Advance, WuXi AppTec Expands Global Capabilities for Peptides, Oligonucleotides and TPDs

The rapid rise of new therapeutic modalities - from peptides and oligonucleotides to targeted protein degraders (TPDs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) - is reshaping how medicines are developed and manufactured globally.

The scientific shift toward more structurally complex and therapeutically targeted molecules has prompted a corresponding reallocation of investment priorities at WuXi AppTec (https://www.wuxiapptec.com), with increased focus on expanding capabilities in emerging modalities such as oligonucleotides and peptides, according to Pharma Manufacturing's recent feature interview (https://www.pharmamanufacturing.com/sector/contract-manufacturing/article/55378260/wuxi-apptec-plans-capital-expenditure-increase-of-at-least-17-in-2026) with WuXi AppTec.
The company is expanding manufacturing capacity across multiple regions while simultaneously building specialized technology platforms designed to support increasingly sophisticated therapeutic programs.

Peptides, in particular, are emerging as a key area of innovation, driven by their growing role in metabolic disease treatment and the expansion of peptide conjugates and other targeted delivery technologies that are broadening applications in precision medicine.
WuXi TIDES (https://tides.wuxiapptec.com/), the company's end-to-end platform focused on oligonucleotides and peptides, is expected to deliver approximately 40 percent year-over-year revenue growth in 2026.

The company said it has continued to invest aggressively in both manufacturing scale and process innovation to support that growth.

At the end of 2025, WuXi AppTec's total solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) reactor volume exceeded 100,000 liters ahead of schedule, while the company expects total capacity to reach 130,000 liters by the end of 2026. Its total solid-phase oligo synthesis (SPOS) reactor scale exceeded 8 mol.
New production plants dedicated to TIDES manufacturing are under construction across regions. At WuXi AppTec's Taixing site in China, two additional plants dedicated to oligonucleotide, peptide and PMO production are currently under construction and scheduled to be operational in 2027, and the first TIDES plant in Singapore will be operational in 2028.

Beyond manufacturing scale, WuXi AppTec is investing heavily in process technologies aimed at improving efficiency, scalability and product quality for complex molecules.
For peptides, the company has developed integrated process approaches combining solid-phase and liquid-phase synthesis technologies to improve scalability for longer and more complex sequences.
Downstream purification and API isolation processes - including tangential flow filtration, continuous flow chromatography and spray drying - are applied to improve yield, process robustness and scalability.

A similar integrated approach is being applied in oligonucleotide manufacturing, where technologies such as thin film evaporation and continuous flow chromatography help streamline downstream processing, while biocatalytic fragment ligation expands the toolkit for constructing more complex sequences.
In the area of targeted protein degraders and ADCs, increasing scientific momentum is accompanied by rising technical complexity, particularly in translating in vitro performance into cellular and in vivo outcomes, as well as in managing and interpreting increasingly large experimental datasets.

To address these challenges, the company integrates chemistry, biology and testing earlier in the discovery process, combining multi-parameter optimization, higher-quality libraries and real-time data integration to help customers make faster and more informed development decisions.
By combining global manufacturing infrastructure with integrated scientific capabilities, WuXi AppTec aims to support customers from early discovery through commercial supply across a growing range of complex therapeutic modalities.

The company's investment strategy reflects a deliberate effort to build manufacturing infrastructure ahead of demand, ensuring sufficient capacity as next-generation drug programs advance toward later stages of development and commercialization.

With operations across Asia, Europe, and North America, we offer integrated, end-to-end services through our unique CRDMO (Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization) platform.

Email: wuxiconcierge@wuxiapptec.com

WuXi AppTec is a trusted partner and contributor to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, providing R&D and manufacturing services that help advance healthcare innovation. With operations across Asia, Europe, and North America, we offer integrated, end-to-end services through our unique CRDMO (Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization) platform. We are privileged to work alongside partners across 30+ countries, supporting their efforts to bring breakthrough treatments to patients. Guided by our vision that every drug can be made and every disease can be treated, we are committed to advancing breakthroughs for patients-one collaboration at a time.

This release was published on openPR.