WuXi XDC Named World ADC 'Best CDMO' for the Fourth Consecutive Year, and Retains 'Best CRO' Title

At the 2026 World ADC Awards, WuXi XDC won 'Best CDMO' for the fourth consecutive year and retained 'Best CRO' for the second year running — the only CRDMO to hold both titles in consecutive years. From delivery records of '10 months DNA-to-PCC, 15 months DNA-to-IND, 24–36 months late-stage-to-BLA' to its proprietary technology stack (WuXiDARx™, WuXiTecan-2™) and its China + Singapore dual-site network, the certainty of the ADC outsourcing leader keeps compounding.

On October 15, WuXi XDC (2268.HK), the global leading bioconjugate CRDMO, announced that it has been named 'Best CDMO' at the 2026 World ADC Awards for the fourth consecutive year, while retaining the 'Best CRO' title for the second year in a row — making it the only CRDMO to win both awards two years running. The World ADC Awards are among the industry's most influential annual honors, recognizing companies, teams and innovations with outstanding contributions across the ADC field.

Behind the double crown: turning speed into a systematized delivery record

The award rests on quantifiable one-stop delivery records: through its integrated ADC discovery services, WuXi XDC has enabled clients to advance from DNA to a preclinical candidate (PCC) in 10 months, from DNA to an IND application in 15 months, and from late-stage development to a BLA in 24–36 months. On scale: as of June 2026 the company served 800+ global clients (including 15 of the top 20 pharma companies by revenue), supported 160+ IND filings, and ran 328 iCMC programs — 51 of them initiated in H1 2026 alone. The company employs more than 3,600 people, over 50% of whom hold master's degrees or above.

Technology stack and out-licensing: from taking orders to licensing the platform

On innovation, WuXi XDC has built a technology portfolio centered on the WuXiDARx™ conjugation platform and proprietary payload-linkers WuXiTecan-2™, X-LinC™ and WuXiLinker™, with research spanning 22,000+ ADC/XDC molecules and continuing expansion into bispecific ADCs and dual-payload ADCs. Notably, in February and August 2026 the company signed out-licensing agreements based on the WuXiTecan-2™ platform with Earendil Labs and Ona Therapeutics respectively, advancing three iCMC programs — meaning WuXi XDC's revenue structure is extending from service fees toward 'platform licensing plus attached CMC work', with technology IP becoming an independent commercial lever.

Editorial view: ADC outsourcing is concentrating at the top, and 'certainty' is the scarcest resource

The four-year award streak spans the full cycle of the ADC field from explosion to consolidation. Between 2024 and 2026, the global ADC pipeline moved from 'everyone does ADCs' to a shakeout focused on head assets, and outsourcing demand changed accordingly: first, clients now demand higher capacity quality and global footprints — WuXi XDC's Singapore BCM3 dual-function line completed GMP release in August 2026, completing the 'China + Singapore' dual-site supply strategy; second, complex molecules (bispecific ADCs, dual payloads, novel linkers) make up a rising share, and only top CRDMOs with mature conjugation platforms can take them on. As the industry shifts from an 'increment race' to a 'certainty race', the ~50% YoY backlog growth WuXi XDC reported for H1 reflects a structural concentration of orders into leading platforms. For domestic ADC CDMO challengers, the real gap is not capacity figures but the ability to replicate this full-chain loop from discovery and linker technology through commercial release.

We are proud to be named Best CDMO for the fourth consecutive year and to retain the Best CRO title — and we feel ever more the weight of that trust. Facing the growing complexity and diversity of bioconjugate demand, WuXi XDC will keep technological innovation as our foundation and global collaboration and high-quality delivery as our support, empowering clients to bring bioconjugates to the clinic and commercialization faster and more reliably.