24/7 BIOPHARMA - issue 1 / October 2024

WUXI APPTEC

IPF is a devastating disease, with a five-year survival rate worse than many cancers. A recent Phase 2a study provided the first evidence of any agent in IPF potentially reversing the disease. This was observed across multiple endpoints, including both lung function and architecture. Having a therapy that can reverse the fibrotic process for the first time offers a glimmer of hope for those affected by this poorly prognostic disease. Healthy aging has been a huge priority across governments around the world, being addressed fiercely in countries like Singapore and Japan, where vast amounts of public spending are sunk into health solutions for the challenges faced by an aging population. Alzheimer’s disease continues to loom large as populations age, with over 50 million people already affected globally. The global burden of this disease on society and health system resilience is set to rise dramatically, making the advancements we’re seeing even more urgent. As George Vradenburg, founding chairman of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, says in his recent interview, “after over a century of research, we are now seeing the first disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer’s”. These drugs don’t just manage symptoms— they target the underlying pathology to slow the disease’s progression. It’s a small step in the grand scheme of things, but an immensely important one. The potential to intervene earlier in the disease’s course, and stave off symptoms for longer periods, is where I believe the future lies. These efforts I have described so far are leading us closer to the breakthroughs we need—each new drug has undoubtedly stood on the shoulders of others to get where they are today—therapies that don’t just manage diseases but modify them at their core, giving patients hope for a better future. However, this innovation cannot be done in isolation - there is a critical role for collaboration to play in accelerating innovation. While it’s easy to get caught up in the science itself, bringing these therapies to patients requires a vast network of partnerships. I’m amazed to learn that WuXi AppTec has more than 6000 customers, adding 500 new customers in the first half of 2024 alone, and with the majority being outside Europe. Obviously WuXi AppTec has become a trusted partner to many organizations through its unique Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organizations (CRDMOs) model, which it’s often anecdotally called, “the WuXi model”. In his interview with WXPress John Hood, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor BioMedicines put very nicely how the ‘WuXi model’ has helped him bring innovation to patients. “A good partner brings strengths and capabilities that we don’t have internally.

We’re a small company. The majority of our employees are focused on clinical development. It would be cost prohibitive for us to build a manufacturing and chemistry site internally. Why do that when you can partner with a company like WuXi AppTec? They have been a trusted partner for me going on two decades now. Time is often the biggest asset and I’m confident in WuXi AppTec to deliver drug product on time and at a high quality.” As I look at the biotech hotspots in Europe, I see a surge of new entrepreneurial initiatives by small groups and even sometimes by individuals. I believe this is why I think we need to embrace the ‘WuXi model’ further to accelerate our output and make improvements on attrition rates. To achieve this, we must adopt a global partnering approach, utilising the best resources from experts and experienced partners worldwide. Take the exciting new modalities such as RNA therapeutics as example, WuXi AppTec’s TIDES (peptides and oligos) business has seen a significant 57% growth in revenues, serving 151 customers and 288 molecules. This leads me to wonder about the potential positive impact on European patients if we could harness such a substantial service engine to meet the continent’s needs. CRDMO platforms are the unsung heroes of modern drug development. They bridge the gap between groundbreaking scientific discoveries and the ultimate commercial launch of life-saving therapies, ensuring that innovation reaches the patients who need it most. These organizations are pivotal in advancing new treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, IPF, and beyond. They also open up possibilities to look at more targets at the same time and provides a faster, cleaner and clearer route for ideas to advance. Pharmaceutical science has been historically cumbersome and expensive and in Europe, where the concept of outsourced discovery was initially pioneered, we have been strangely slow in adopting its advantages until recently. I am more hopeful than ever about the future of medicine. With the advent of new technologies and continued collaboration between biotech companies and CRDMOs, we’re on the brink of therapies that not only slow disease progression but also restore health and function. The next few years hold incredible promise, and I believe that in Europe it’s time we not only embraced these hidden partnering networks but started celebrating them as vital partners.

NIDHI NARAIN Scientific Writer, Head of Scientific Communication DeFacto Communication Pvt Ltd

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TWENTYFOURSEVENBIOPHARMA Issue 1 / October 2024