WuXi AppTec is parting ways with its U.S. medical device testing business, selling its two stateside locations to the Ohio-based regulatory consulting firm NAMSA.
The deal includes facilities in Atlanta, Georgia and St. Paul, Minnesota; the financial details were not disclosed. In its announcement, the Chinese contract R&D and manufacturing giant said the two companies will work to ensure a smooth transition for customers.
“This transaction supports our strategic business portfolio optimization, sharpens our focus on and positions us to invest further in our core CRDMO business in the U.S. and elsewhere, and strengthens our unique CRDMO model for pharmaceutical products,” WuXi AppTec co-CEO Steve Yang said in the company’s statement.
In an email to employees, Rick Connell, WuXi AppTec’s U.S. and European Union president, described the personnel making the jump as leaders in the field of medical device testing.
“We therefore only agreed to the acquisitions once we had identified partners who are committed not only to growing the operations in ways that will benefit their talented team members but also to serving our life science customers and enabling their life-saving work of developing treatments and devices that address patients’ needs,” Connell wrote.
Additionally, he described how WuXi AppTec plans this year to move forward with the construction of a pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Delaware, set to come online in 2026 and eventually support about 500 jobs.
“In line with growing customer demand, we have also begun looking to identify additional U.S. locations where we can continue to invest in new WuXi AppTec facilities for drug discovery, development and manufacturing,” he wrote.
NAMSA, meanwhile, has been acquisitive in recent years, since it was itself bought by the private equity firm ARCHIMED in 2020. The addition of WuXi AppTec’s U.S. operations marks its ninth purchase since that year—previous deals include a CRO in Germany and a scientific consulting firm in Spain.
“We are extremely pleased to announce our agreement with WuXi AppTec, as it enables us to expand our portfolio of clinical research and testing solutions for clients,” said NAMSA CEO André-Michel Ballester. “NAMSA and WuXi AppTec’s Medical Device Testing Operations have different areas of expertise but serve the same client base and will enhance the client experience by combining capabilities.”
The divestment follows reporting last year that WuXi AppTec has been considering selling off certain operations as the BIOSECURE Act was making its way through Congress. The bill—which cleared the House last September, but later stalled in the Senate—would prevent federally funded U.S. companies from working with certain Chinese biotech service providers, including WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics, as well as BGI Group, MGI and Complete Genomics.
In late December, WuXi AppTec announced a deal to sell its U.S. and U.K. cell and gene unit, known as WuXi Advanced Therapies, to the New York-based investment firm Altaris, also for an undisclosed amount. That transaction is expected to close in the first half of this year.