The transaction, which is expected to increase WuXi’s 2015 diluted EPS (earnings-per-share) on a non-GAAP basis, will be a boon for WuXi’s Laboratory Testing Division (LTD), particularly in studies of radio-labeled compounds. WuXi also believes the transaction will help it to gain access to new agricultural and animal health customers.
The acquisition expands LTD’s presence in North America, provides greater flexibility in service and support options for our North American customers, and presents the opportunity for further expansion.
“Our presence and expansion in the US, along with our capabilities and capacity in China, will translate into a more comprehensive, more flexible and better service offering for our North America customers,” WuXi spokesman Hui Cai told us. “When fully integrated, LTD will deliver quicker turnaround time, more streamlined sample logistics, enhanced project management, and improved communications to serve our clients.”
XBL has 150 employees and operates a 45,000-square-foot research center in Plainsboro, New Jersey, and a 36,000-square-foot facility in Nanjing, China. The company is FDA- and USDA-registered, licensed for work with radioisotopes, US DEA-licensed for conducting research with Schedule 1-5 controlled substances, and accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.
“We have started the integration process, and do not anticipate any disruption of ongoing collaborations with WuXi or XBL’s respective customers,” WuXi public relations director Dai Jialing told us.
Jinn Wu, President and CEO of XBL, will join WuXi as the VP and Chief Scientific Officer of WuXi’s LTD.
“A cross-functional integration team co-led by Wu and Xin Zhang, Head of LTD’s DMPK business unit, is ready to begin the transition and we will provide more information as the integration progresses,” Jialing told us.
Wu added: “We will continue to provide our services to our current clients while also offering expanded services to WuXi’s clients.”
Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi, added: “Dr. Wu has spent the past 27 years building a solid organization and reputation within the industry. This business combination is an important step in WuXi’s development of a comprehensive, integrated platform of R&D services to help our customers discover and develop drugs more efficiently and cost-effectively.”
With operations in both China and the US, WuXi’s LTD offers services and solutions in chemical analysis, biology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, toxicology, bioanalysis, genomics, and clinical diagnostics.