Bildnachweis: Crelux, a WuXi AppTec Company.
Crelux has grown from a structural biology company into a multidisciplinary discovery hub within WuXi AppTec. Dr Thomas Meins discusses accelerating drug discovery, helping biotech start-ups use capital efficiently, and why Europe must become faster at turning scientific breakthroughs into therapies.
VC Magazin: Ten years ago, WuXi AppTec acquired Crelux, a global leader in structure- based drug discovery. How has the company evolved under WuXi AppTec’s umbrella, and what milestones have you jointly achieved since then?
Meins: When Crelux joined WuXi AppTec ten years ago, and became part of the global Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO), the goal was never simply to preserve what we had built, but to create conditions in which it could grow further. Today, Crelux operates as an integral part of WuXi AppTec, and is firmly embedded in Munich’s local ecosystem and at the same time a pillar of the discovery research network that is operating globally. Our scientists collaborate seamlessly with colleagues in Europe and around the world, combining complementary expertise to solve increasingly complex scientific challenges. We have evolved from a structural biology company into a multidisciplinary discovery hub for hit identification and lead optimisation, integrating complementary technologies and scientific expertise across structural biology, proteomics, and advanced screening to address complex targets and modalities. Our Munich team has grown from 30 to over 100 scientists, our site from 700 to 3,000 square metres in only ten years. Together with facilities around the world, the Munich site supports clients from translating innovative ideas into scalable solutions. Munich has also become WuXi AppTec’s European headquarters, reflecting the strategic importance the region holds within the global organisation.
VC Magazin: How do you contribute to accelerating the translation of scientific research into new therapies?
Meins: Drug discovery is a series of learning cycles: generate data, draw conclusions, make the next decision. The faster and more confidently those cycles run, the sooner a promising molecule becomes a real therapy. Our breadth of technologies and scientific expertise helps reduce development risk by providing a robust data foundation for earlier, better-informed go/ no-go decisions, while avoiding the capital investment required to build these capabilities and expertise in-house. We adopt emerging technologies early and make them accessible to customers without requiring them to invest in the infrastructure themselves. They have the opportunity to draw on the full depth of WuXi AppTec’s integrated global expertise while working with a locally rooted team, operating to European standards. And as their programmes grow, they can scale with our help from discovery through development to commercial manufacturing.
VC Magazin: How does WuXi AppTec support biotech start-ups in reducing development risks and reaching investor-relevant milestones more efficiently?
Meins: For biotech start-ups, timing and capital efficiency are everything. Most cannot self-fund the journey from promising science to commercial scale, and generating the right data at the right time is essential for attracting investment and advancing programmes. This is where promising science too often stalls. Working with us, emerging companies access a broad range of capabilities without bearing the cost of building them, supported by a team that adapts to changing priorities. That frees capital for science and allows them to move from one stage to the next with a single trusted partner.
VC Magazin: Where do you see the greatest opportunities for the European biotech ecosystem over the next five to ten years?
Meins: Europe’s greatest strength is the depth, diversity, and persistence of its scientific research. The path from early mRNA science to transformative vaccines, or from decades of GLP-1 work to today’s medicines, shows what sustained scientific conviction can achieve. What needs to catch up is the speed of translation from idea to commerce. Europe excels at generating scientific ideas; it needs to become equally strong at developing and scaling them into treatments for patients. That requires local infrastructure, manufacturing expertise, and partners genuinely anchored on the ground. This is where WuXi AppTec plays a concrete role: providing end-to-end flexibility and capacity from within Europe, keeping promising discoveries in the region, and building the capabilities to advance them. Investors are increasingly recognising both the quality of European science and the disciplined use of capital behind it. If Europe can close that gap, I am genuinely optimistic about the decade ahead.
VC Magazin: Thank you very much.
About the interview partner:
Dr Thomas Meins is General Manager of Munich-based Crelux, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, a leading global contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO). With more than 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry, he brings perspectives on how globally integrated research, development and manufacturing capabilities, scientific expertise, and critical infrastructure can accelerate innovation, scale rapidly when needed, and strengthen resilience in the face of global health challenges.
