SHANGHAI, June 21 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. , a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device research and development outsourcing company with operations in China and the United States, today announced that Wei-Min Chang has been appointed Vice President of Operations and General Manager of the company's SynTheAll (STA) manufacturing facility, located in the Jinshan chemical industry zone of Shanghai. Mr. Chang will report to Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WuXi PharmaTech.
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Dr. Eric Gu, former Vice President of Operations and General Manager of STA, has been appointed Vice President of Business Development for Manufacturing Services, reporting to Dr. Suhan Tang, Chief Manufacturing Officer.
The Company's SynTheAll facility manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and advanced intermediates for our customers' use in preclinical and clinical trials. The company recently completed construction of an expanded facility, known as SynTheAll Phase 2, to produce advanced intermediates and APIs for late-stage clinical trials and commercial supplies. This new facility is expected to open in stages, beginning in late 2009.
Prior to joining WuXi, Mr. Chang worked at Eastbound Synopharma (HK) Holding Co. as Vice President of Chemical Development, responsible for research and development, small-scale manufacturing, quality control/quality assurance, regulatory affairs and other general administrative functions at Eastbound Shanghai Institute. From 1999 to 2006, he worked for Taiwan Biotech as the company's head of U.S. operations and as Vice President of R&D/Quality/Regulatory Affairs/API Operations. From 1989 to 1998, he was Senior Process Engineer/Chemical Engineer at Eli Lilly, where he was responsible for designing and developing manufacturing processes for advanced intermediates, APIs, and bulk pharmaceuticals at both laboratory and pilot- plant scale. Earlier, he was Chief Engineer/Chemist and Environmental, Health and Safety Director at Frismar, Inc.
"We are delighted to have someone with Mr. Chang's extensive manufacturing experience to manage our Jinshan facility," said Dr. Li. "Wei-Min's knowledge of cGMP manufacturing operations within the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical industries will help WuXi manage its manufacturing facilities efficiently and effectively. I also want to thank Eric Gu for his service as the previous general manager of the facility and to congratulate him on his appointment to manage business development for our Manufacturing Services."
Mr. Chang received a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Tamkang University in Taiwan, a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut, and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.
CONTACT: Ronald Aldridge, Director of Investor Relations, WuXi PharmaTech
(Cayman) Inc. at +1-201-585-2048 or Ron_Aldridge@wuxiapptec.com
Web site: http://www.wuxiapptec.com/