把不可能變為可能：藥明康德的產能躍升與全球信賴 | 逐夢者說 | Bilingual

編者按：“讓天下沒有難做的藥，難治的病”，是初心，更是愿景。自成立以來，藥明康德步履不停：從一間實驗室，到覆蓋亞洲、歐洲和北美的全球網絡。從早期的化學合成服務，到貫穿研究（R）、開發（D）和生產（M）的一體化平臺。從第一位客戶，到全球三十多個國家的數千合作伙伴。不斷發展的，是規模與能力；始終堅守的，是夢想與承諾。

致敬來時路，共譜新篇章！在這一系列訪談中，我們以“逐夢者”視角，回顧藥明康德成長發展的崢嶸歲月，回望賦能客戶創新的并肩往事，更以獨特的“藥明精神”展望未來新篇章。

2001年盛夏，陽光透過梧桐樹葉，在上海外高橋的街道上灑下斑駁光影。年輕的張峰帶著憧憬，第一次以正式員工的身份走進藥明康德的辦公區。

巧合總在不經意間悄然降臨。就在同一天，這家剛剛成立8個月的年輕公司，正在拍攝員工宣傳片。張峰也客串了一回“群眾演員”，對著鏡頭露出青澀而燦爛的笑容。那次偶然的拍攝，定格了他在藥明康德最初的模樣。

那時的他未曾預料，這家尚在起步階段的公司，將在未來二十五年間成長為賦能全球三十多個國家、數千家合作伙伴的一體化CRDMO平臺；也沒有想到，自己會在這段征程中并肩前行二十余載，親歷商業化生產從無到有、不斷躍升的全過程。

如今，張峰已擔任藥明康德高級副總裁，原料藥生產業務部負責人。回望初入公司的時光，令他記憶猶新的，不僅是團隊圍繞項目熱烈討論的濃厚學習氛圍，還有一個看似不經意的“玩笑”，悄然影響了他在藥明康德的職業航向。

圖片來源：123RF

產能建設歷程：“把不可能變為可能”

入職不到半年時，張峰曾半開玩笑地說道：“做幾克的小實驗太慢了，我們能不能做得再多一點？”

一句看似輕描淡寫的提議，卻像一粒投入湖面的石子，激起了遠超預期的漣漪——很快，一個規模達兩噸的放大項目，落在了這個年輕人的肩上。

這是一次前所未有的挑戰與機遇。在實驗室的燈光下，張峰帶領團隊反復優化每一個反應路線，精益求精地提升著每一分效率。最終，他們不僅圓滿完成了任務，更以超出預期的成果，證明了藥明康德具備將實驗成果成功放大的能力。

2002年，藥明康德決定自建工廠，為合作伙伴提供商業化生產服務。隨著金山工廠正式投入運營，那位曾希望“做得再多一點”的年輕人，也肩負起生產負責人的重任。

從此，藥明康德的全球產能建設畫卷徐徐展開，一筆一畫，已然持續描繪了二十余載。

如今，藥明康德已在亞洲、歐洲和北美擁有二十多個研發和生產基地，并且產能擴建的腳步仍在加速。根據2025年三季度財報，藥明康德多肽固相合成反應釜總體積已提升至超過10萬升，提前完成年度目標；小分子原料藥反應釜總體積也預計將在年底超過400萬升，為全球客戶的生產項目提供堅實支撐。

產能的躍升，也直觀反映在項目數量的增長上。以小分子為例，根據三季度財報，藥明康德現有80個商業化項目，同比增長18%。前三季度，小分子商業化和臨床3期項目新增15項。

數年前，張峰團隊曾經歷過一次產能建設的極限考驗。

當時，藥明康德承接了合作伙伴一款口服藥的原料藥（API）生產任務。項目要求團隊從零開始建成一個全新車間并投入使用，而整個周期只有不到四個月。

看到項目周期，就連身經百戰的張峰也倒吸了一口涼氣。“按照常規進度，這幾乎是不可能完成的任務。”張峰坦言，當時建設條件尚不成熟，各種挑戰接踵而至。

盡管任務艱巨，團隊還是選擇了迎難而上。他們深知，每一粒藥片背后，都連接著患者的希望。秉持“做對的事，把事做好”的價值觀，公司內部各部門凝聚合力，通過一系列精益運營策略，大幅縮短了建設與爬坡時間，最終順利完成交付，確保了客戶的藥品能夠快速推向市場。

這正是藥明康德“把不可能變為可能”的真實寫照。

圖片來源：123RF

追求極致，為生產提效率

“在生物醫藥行業，提升研發生產效率的關鍵在于破解兩個核心課題：一是第一次就把事情做對（First Time Right），二是持續提升產能利用率。”張峰總結道。

他清楚地記得，為攻克這兩大課題，藥明康德在過去二十多年中，如何用一項項扎實的精益運營舉措，不斷挑戰效率的極限。

為提高首次正確率而成立的專項小組，通過系統優化，在短短幾年內將操作的準確率提高了兩個數量級。

在提高產能利用率方面，項目組通過精細化排程管理，讓設備發揮出最大效能。“就像用搭積木的方式，讓空閑的設備搭得更滿，讓項目能準時進、準時出，避免一個項目的延誤對后續所有項目造成連鎖影響。”張峰形象地比喻。

通過排程優化、提升設備清洗效率、維修管理方案創新等一系列舉措，公司整體產能利用率從最初不足50%，提高到了目前的72%，已逐步接近理論極限。

創新技術的應用，同樣為生產效率注入了新的活力。“只有重視能力建設，保持創新技術能力的不斷提高，才能支持業務的持續發展。”張峰強調，這既是行業發展的必然趨勢，也是藥明康德多年來的實踐。

近年來，噴霧干燥、流動化學、酶催化、結晶等創新技術能力快速發展，為解決傳統手段難以應對的研發生產挑戰提供了全新路徑。基于獨特的CRDMO模式，藥明康德能夠前瞻性地捕捉到這些創新技術的變革性潛力，提前布局技術平臺。

以酶催化技術為例，其具備反應條件溫和、收率高、雜質少等優勢，已經在新藥研發和生產中大放異彩。“這項技術有時能將五步反應縮成一步，極大提升了反應效率，”張峰表示，“由于多數用水做溶劑，酶催化反應在環保、安全性方面也表現出顯著優勢。”

如今，藥明康德已建立了生物酶催化工藝技術平臺，為全球客戶提供一站式的解決方案。根據公開信息，藥明康德子公司合全藥業開發了20多種生物酶催化反應類型，其酶催化技術從2024年10月到2025年9月，共運用到110多步生產中，交付了90多噸產品。

“這些創新技術的廣泛應用，以及扎實的全面能力建設，讓我們在面對客戶的復雜工藝挑戰時更有信心，更有底氣。”張峰的話語中透著自信。

100%成功率，鑄就“可靠的合作伙伴”

信任，是在一次次考驗中淬煉而成的真金。其中一次考驗，至今讓張峰記憶猶新。

那是一個來自老客戶的訂單——就在前一年，藥明康德剛為該客戶順利交付了數噸產品。當客戶再次發來訂單時，張峰心中既欣喜，也感受到了肩頭沉甸甸的分量。

欣喜，源于客戶給出了更大的訂單，這無疑是對藥明康德生產能力最直接的信任。壓力，則來自于成倍增長的產量需求與并未延長的交付周期。

盡管藥明康德近年來前瞻性地持續擴建產能，然而面對成倍增長的任務，挑戰依舊嚴峻。

關鍵時刻，在藥明康德CRDMO模式的高效協同下，各團隊如精密齒輪般無縫銜接。多套設備的工藝驗證與產能擴增在短時間內完成；精益運營舉措也同步發力，有效縮短了生產周期。

最終，團隊以100%的成功率，如期完成了兩倍于上一年的生產任務。交上這份滿分答卷后，藥明康德贏得了客戶的高度評價，成為客戶心目中“可靠的合作伙伴”。

圖片來源：123RF

“速度不僅意味著競爭力的提升，更意味著新藥能夠更早到達患者手中，”張峰說這句話時，眼神堅定，“對客戶是商業價值，對患者則是生命的希望。”

回望張峰在藥明康德二十余年的職業生涯，類似的經歷并不少見。每一次合作伙伴的“回頭”訂單，每一次客戶在參觀工廠時對設備先進性、團隊專業度與運營管理體系的高度評價，都在訴說著這段旅程的價值。

每一份來自客戶的信任，都讓張峰深感責任重大，也備受鼓舞。“我們始終致力于將生產平臺建設得更高效、更卓越。這是我們對客戶信賴最好的回應。”張峰的話語中，飽含著二十余年如一日的熱忱。

奔赴下一個25年

從最初金山工廠的一臺反應釜，到如今遍布三大洲的研發生產基地；從一個兩噸項目的忐忑嘗試，到數百萬升反應釜的從容運轉——近二十五載春秋，張峰見證了公司全球產能布局的變遷，也親歷了商業化生產能力從起步到成熟的過程。

回望來路，他始終未忘那份從事藥物研發生產的初心：“要縮短新藥研發時間、降低研發成本，讓患者更早地用上新藥好藥。”

如今，站在新的起點上，張峰與藥明康德的故事仍在續寫。

奔赴下一個25年，前方的征程更加令人心潮澎湃。藥明康德仍將秉持“讓天下沒有難做的藥，難治的病”的宏大愿景，攜手全球合作伙伴為患者托起生命的希望。

From Firefighting to First-Time-Right

Editor’s Note: “Every drug can be made and every disease can be treated.” Since 2000, from a single laboratory to a global network spanning Asia, Europe, and North America; from early chemical synthesis services to an integrated platform that connects Research (R), Development (D), and Manufacturing (M); from its very first customer to thousands of partners across more than 30 countries, WuXi AppTec has never stopped moving forward to realize its enduring vision.

In tribute to the journey, we look back through the eyes of our “dream-makers”: revisiting the stories of partnership that empowered global innovation, and the unique spirit that continues to guide us toward the next chapter.

On July 12, 2001, a young chemist named Feng Zhang walked through the gate of a brand-new company called WuXi AppTec.

A few weeks earlier, he had finished an interview filled with quick chemistry questions from the founders. Now, he stood in a small lab that smelled faintly of chemicals and excitement.

By chance, his first task that very afternoon was to appear in the company’s first employee video. No one could have anticipated that this quiet man in the background would one day lead WuXi AppTec’s API manufacturing, a core part of its global platform that now stretches across three continents.

Source: 123RF

The First Reactions

Back then, WuXi AppTec was a small company, but one filled with energy and eagerness. Every week, the founders gathered a few chemists to discuss how to “make the reaction run cleaner,” or “deliver faster.”

Zhang remembers the distinctive sounds of glass bottles clinking, markers squeaking on whiteboards, and endless questions flying across the room. “Every day I learned something new,” he says.

Even in those busy early days, Zhang was already thinking bigger.

“Making just a few grams felt too slow,” he recalls. “I wondered if we could produce more at once.”

He mentioned this idea half-jokingly to the management team. A few days later, they gave him a real challenge: a project involving two tons of material, and Zhang would be in charge.

By the end of 2001, he was leading his first large-scale reaction. By mid-2002, WuXi AppTec decided to build its own factory, the starting point of what would later grow into a global manufacturing network.

Zhang divided his time between supervising rented pilot plants and helping construct the new site. When the factory opened, someone needed to take charge. He stepped up.

“I never planned to work in manufacturing,” he says. “It just grew together with the company.”

In the beginning, projects came faster than experience. “I felt like a firefighter,” Zhang laughs. But those early struggles taught the discipline and habits that would later define WuXi AppTec’s precision.

By 2008 and 2009, production finally found its rhythm. The firefighting had turned into harmonized operation.

When the Impossible Was the Only Option

By 2019, WuXi AppTec’s production lines were reaching their limits. Reactors sometimes sat unused, not because there were no orders, but because the scheduling, cleaning, and maintenance did not connect smoothly.

To fix this,Zhang led a companywide effort to make production work like a “real-time orchestra.”

The changes looked simple but made a huge difference: using smarter solvents to shorten cleaning time, doing preventive maintenance like a race car team changing tires, and arranging project schedules so they fit together perfectly.

As a result,capacity use rose from 40 percent to over 70 percent, a gain equal to adding eight new factories without building anything new.

And while mistakes happened once in every hundred batches, now they are almost gone. To Zhang, the days of constant firefighting were officially behind them.

Source: 123RF

Then came an even bigger test. Zhang’s team was asked to deliver an important API for a major client.To meet the deadline, they had to build and qualify a completely new production line in less than four months.

“Most people said it was impossible,” Zhang recalls.

But he had already learned WuXi AppTec’s meaning of speed: skill built on belief. Suppliers, builders, and regulators all joined the effort. They worked through tight schedules, sourced parts from across the globe, and finished ahead of time.

When the first batch was completed, it was more than just another delivery.It was proof that the balance of speed, cost, and quality—the so-called impossible triangle—could truly be achieved.

“The reason we succeeded,” Zhang says softly, “is because we knew it was the right thing to do. And when people see your determination to do the right thing, and do it right, they will follow you.”

Not long after, another challenge arrived.

A client sent Zhang a new order for a new peptide project: twice the scale of their previous project just a year earlier, yet with the same delivery deadline. It was both a compliment and a test.

Even with WuXi AppTec’s ongoing expansion of production capacity, the task was daunting.

At a crucial moment, teams from manufacturing, R&D, technical operations, and quality assurance worked together seamlessly. Multiple production lines were qualified, and capacity was rapidly increased. At the same time, lean operations drove efficiency, with continuous improvements that shortened the production cycle.

In the end, Zhang’s team delivered with 100 percent success, doubling the previous output, with zero delays.

The client’s response was short but powerful: “You are our reliable partner.”

Source: 123RF

The Quiet Architect

Colleagues describe Zhang as calm and humble. He talks more about systems than about himself, and he always gives credit to others—the operators, engineers, and team leaders who make everything work.

“I’m not very good at talking about how well I do,” he says with a smile. “But I can tell you how good our system is.”

When asked what “WuXi Speed” really means, Zhang does not use fancy words. He talks instead about scheduling algorithms, reactor turnover, and the kind of teamwork that leaves no idle hour unclaimed.

“Speed is not about rushing,” he says. “It is about creating systems that waste nothing: not time, not materials, not opportunities.”

Under his leadership, WuXi AppTec’s 40 plants and 800 reactors now produce more than 30,000 batches each year. The company’s work spans the world, but its spirit stays the same: careful, thoughtful, and deeply human.

For Zhang, innovation is not only about discovering new molecules but also about improving how things are made.He lists technologies that have changed modern manufacturing, such as spray-dried dispersion, flow chemistry, biocatalysis, and advanced crystallization and separation.

Among them, he is most proud of enzyme-based catalysis. It replaces strong chemicals with enzymes and water, making reactions cleaner and safer while improving efficiency.

“A traditional reaction might take five steps,” Zhang explains. “With biocatalysis, we can finish it in just one.”

He adds that these innovations started long before clients asked for them. “That is how we stay ready,” he says. “When the industry changes, we already have the tools.”

That forward thinking is one reason clients trust him when deadlines are tight, or challenges appear. After one complex project, a client told him, “You are our best partner, truly world-class.”

Zhang simply nodded, thanked the client, and returned to work.

The Same Vision

From the first rented plant in Jinshan to sites across China, the United States, Europe, and soon Singapore, Zhang has watched manufacturing grow from hand-drawn flowcharts to fully digital control centers.

Yet, he says, the vision remains the same.

“For me, ‘Every drug can be made, and every disease can be treated’ means shortening the path from an idea to a real medicine,” he explains. “It means using our systems, our knowledge, our skills to help better drugs reach patients faster.”

He pauses for a moment, thoughtful as always. “We started by learning how to make reactions work,” he says. “Now we are learning how to make everything work together.”

In that simple sentence lies the meaning of WuXi Speed: not a rush, but a rhythm; not pride, but purpose.

And at its center stands Feng Zhang, the quiet architect who turned the noise of chemistry into the harmony of progress.

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