Mayo Clinic & WuXi Diagnostics Open U.S. R&D Facility

WuXi Diagnostics announced the plan to open its first U.S.-based research and diagnostic testing development facility in Rochester, Minn. to accelerate esoteric diagnostic product development, and bring more personalized and accurate clinical diagnosis services for global patients.
 
The new facility is located in One Discovery Square, a new health technology and life sciences center in Rochester. The facility is expected to open before the end of the year and will serve as a center for clinical diagnostic testing optimization and development. WuXi Diagnostics’ researchers and technicians will leverage this facility to optimize existing diagnostic tests and to collaborate in the development of new diagnostic tests with Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, specifically its Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory.
 
“Our new facility will directly contribute to our further cooperation with Mayo Clinic,” said Jason Liu, Ph.D., CEO of WuXi Diagnostics. “It will leverage WuXi Diagnostics’ research and development capability and Mayo Clinic’s advanced clinical practice to accelerate esoteric diagnostic product development and to transform discoveries into diagnostic tests that will benefit all.”
 
“This facility allows us to further leverage our existing knowledge and expertise in the esoteric diagnostics in a wide range of areas–cancer, hematology, neurology, gastroenterology, genetics, to name just a few–to provide patients worldwide with laboratory testing that addresses their specific health care needs,” said William Morice, II, M.D., Ph.D., president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories and chair of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic. “We’re committed to co-developing assays that will accelerate diagnostics innovation within our respective laboratories and benefit the patients we serve.”
 
“This joint venture and WuXi Diagnostics’ new R&D center is another example of Rochester, Minnesota’s attractiveness as a global hub for healthcare innovation,” said Lisa Clarke, executive director, Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency. “One Discovery Square is a perfect location for its first U.S. research and test development facility and complements the growing list of world-leading health and MedTech companies collaborating in this space.”