Wheeler Bio, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in next-gen protein therapeutics, is pleased to announce the inauguration of its cutting-edge Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) drug substance facility located in the Ziggurat building (Echo Investment Capital) in Oklahoma City, OK.

Wheeler has forged a unique partnership with venture capital, streamlining the transition from discovery to clinical stages for biologics innovation clients. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Jesse McCool, Christian Kanady of Echo, and Errik Anderson of Alloy Therapeutics and 82VS, this pioneering CDMO is committed to providing rapid development services to biotech startups and emerging biopharma pioneers at competitive rates.

Jesse McCool, Co-Founder and CEO at Wheeler, expressed, "We are capitalizing on the cost efficiencies and the skilled biomanufacturing workforce in Oklahoma City to establish a highly distinctive CDMO. With our accessible, modular approach to CMC development, comprehensive technology stack, and parallelized workflow via pools-based processing, Wheeler is setting new standards for early-clinical-phase biologics services."

Spanning an impressive 35,000 square feet, Wheeler's new CGMP facility boasts two single-use drug substance lines (50L and 500L scale HyPerforma™ DynaDrive™), along with warehousing, cold chain capabilities, a buffer and media preparation suite, two master cell banking suites, a RightSourceSM quality control testing lab (partnered with Charles River Labs), document control, utilities, and office space. The facility, a successful brownfield project, was designed, constructed, and delivered ahead of schedule and under budget by Wheeler Bio in collaboration with CRB and Lingo Construction Services, along with automation and validation partners Lucid and CAI. Recent commissioning runs utilizing Wheeler's Portable CMC™ antibody process platform have been accomplished, and the company has already received its first client orders for CGMP drug substance batches.

Yuk Chiu, Chief Manufacturing Officer at Wheeler Bio, shared, "This expansion is transformative, enabling Wheeler to provide our clients with high-quality clinical trial materials promptly. We are thrilled to see our innovative facility design come to fruition, and we eagerly anticipate serving our clients."

Backed by a pioneering hub-and-spoke operational model, which includes satellite preclinical material supply labs strategically located in metropolitan areas with robust biotech clusters, Wheeler Bio stands out as a more accessible, cost-effective, and agile alternative to larger CDMO service providers. The Portable CMC™ platform encompasses state-of-the-art process development capabilities overseen by experienced staff, in addition to cutting-edge technologies facilitating excellence in CGMP manufacturing.

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