China's WuXi PharmaTech ($WX) has launched an app to allow clients to order its chemistry services on the go, touting it as an industry first as the CRO works to claim more of the small-molecule services market.
The app, called WuXi V-Lab, is available on Android and iOS, and it's designed to allow the CRO customers to request organic compound synthesis from anywhere. V-Lab lets clients get quotes, place orders, track progress and pay for small-molecule services from their mobile devices, WuXi said.
The new technology is part of WuXi's ambition to become the world's go-to outlet for medicinal chemistry work, the company said.
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| WuXi PharmaTech CEO Ge Li |
"WuXi is one of the world's largest employers of chemists and a recognized leader in premier chemistry services," CEO Ge Li said in a statement. "We are committed to integrating best-in-class R&D capabilities with cutting-edge mobile technologies to enable innovation-on-the-go by anyone, at any time, anywhere."
Meanwhile, WuXi has been steadily growing its share of the global R&D market thanks to escalating demand for its discovery services and a broad-based expansion of its manufacturing platform. The company has also invested heavily in genomics, constructing China's first CLIA-certified lab in Shanghai and partnering with the likes of Illumina ($ILMN), Foundation Medicine ($FMI) and Pacific Biomarkers to flesh out its offerings in the field.
Last quarter, WuXi's revenue jumped 18% to $173.6 million in a gain driven by 16% growth in its lab services business and a 23% leap in manufacturing. Net income came in at $32 million on the quarter, a 5% increase over last year. WuXi slightly increased its full-year projections, accounting for its September buyout of CRO XenoBiotic Laboratories and its guidance-exceeding third-quarter performance. The company expects to pull in as much as $672 million in 2014, an improvement over its previously announced range of between $665 million and $670 million.
- read the statement
- here's the app