Boehringer Ingelheim is expanding its $77 million contract biologics China plant, making a notable bet that the kind of contract services it offers elsewhere will be a big draw to China too.

This week, Boehringer Ingelheim BioXcellence said it has opened a new isolator-based fill-finish line at its commercial manufacturing unit in Shanghai, called OASIS which is in full compliance with the GMP operations for aseptic filling of liquids in vials.

As a result of its new line, Boehringer now offers manufacturing of drug substances, drug products and all corresponding quality control and assurance activities at the one facility in China.

Boehringer set foot in China in 1994 to build its biologics manufacturing plant and now employs over 3,500 people. The company’s decision to establish a biologics contract manufacturing operation in China was based on the country’s ever-growing population and their increased interest in new medicines.  As a result, the  $77 million facility in Shanghai opened its doors in May 2017.  Currently, the facility has one single-use 2000 liter bioreactor but  Boehringer Ingelheim’s design of the facility was aimed at adding fill-finish capabilities, along with more 2000 L single-use bioreactors.