Benefits of operating within an innovation hub ecosystem

Supply Chain Innovation is Needed for Clinical Impact

In 2022, the global market for biologics was valued at more than U.S. $460 billion and is expected to grow at a 10.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2030. The rising prevalence of cancer, genetic diseases, and autoimmune diseases, coupled with the approval of several disease-modifying therapies of these conditions, is driving the growth. Despite this, however, biological drug access remains constrained by high cost and payer complexities. Unsurprisingly, biologics represent only 2% of all U.S. prescriptions but 37% of net drug spending.

As biologics continue to flood the drug discovery pipeline, translation into widespread clinical impact will require more efficient uses of capital with minimal idle time, lower cost of goods, and improved patient access. Our founders believe that a new paradigm in contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) is necessary to meet the rising healthcare needs. Unfortunately, in a heavily regulated industry, change takes a very long time and not too many new CDMO ideas have emerged in the last 25 years. However, if the business environment, underpinning technologies, and stakeholder alignment are working together in an innovative way, accelerated change is more likely.

Wheeler Bio announced the grand opening of their state-of-the-art drug substance Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) facility inside the Ziggurat building (Echo Investment Capital) in Oklahoma City, OK in October of 2023.

A Home Base at the Heart of the Nation
We have often been asked – why choose Oklahoma City as Wheeler Bio’s home? Oklahoma, as with many rural states in the United States, has no shortage of significant healthcare challenges, but OU Health and the formidable regional life sciences cluster are transforming the future of healthcare. We planted Wheeler Bio’s flag in Oklahoma City to leverage the current momentum. We recognized that doing business in a progressive, hyper-connected, and cost-effective environment like OKC would allow us to be more creative, daring, and experimental in our approach to disrupting the CDMO industry. The future of healthcare is to ensure patients have access to highly trained medical experts, skilled healthcare professionals, dedicated scientific researchers and the latest emerging technologies and advanced medicines. Our core assets (state-of-the-art process development and small scale CGMP manufacturing) are located inside the Oklahoma City Innovation District (OKCID), a geographically centralized hub that is equidistant from major coastal biopharma ecosystems and just up the I-35 corridor from the North Texas biopharma cluster (BioNTX). Our company was founded by a team of industry veterans in discovery, CMC, and venture, with a mission to bridge the discovery-to-clinic gap (a.k.a., “valley of death”) for our clients. By improving the integration of discovery-development workflows (Portable CMC™), connecting clients with an aligned venture syndicate, and partnering with the regional ecosystem, our clients can reach first human trials faster than ever before.

The answer to this question also lies in the city’s strategic investments in the biotech sector over three decades. With a trained workforce, established biotech institutions, and a burgeoning community of local venture capitalists, Oklahoma City provides a conducive environment for Wheeler Bio to thrive. The ease of doing business in Oklahoma City, a top spot for North American business-friendliness, further solidifies the city as a prime growth hub.

Formidable Biosciences Ecosystem and Ready Workforce
The Greater Oklahoma City’s biosciences cluster has made significant progress over the last two decades in becoming one of the region’s top growth sectors, employing about 31,000 people and spending $316 million annually on research and development. Over 75% of all NIH funding in Oklahoma flows into the 1.3 square mile area that constitutes the OKCID, so we knew we wanted to be proximate to all these thought leaders and skilled professionals. In 2021, the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded the cluster a $35 million grant through its Build Back Better Regional Challenge to help expand Oklahoma City’s role as a national hub for drug development, testing and manufacturing. Additionally, in 2019, OKC voters approved, as part of a large public works initiative, $71 million for a new development called Convergence which will be completed in late 2024 and host tenants from a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including biopharmaceuticals.

“Situated in the heart of our downtown, closely aligned with and near the OKC Innovation District and greater healthcare ecosystem, Wheeler Bio is, by design, positioned to seamlessly connect customers with exceptional development and clinical resources.” – Christian Kanady, Founding Partner and CEO of Echo