Amidst a recent expansion of operations by the biopharma industry in Singapore, Thermo Fisher is the latest player to expand its manufacturing and research capabilities in the city-state. In late May 2023, the company officially opened its new sterile drug manufacturing facility in Singapore, established with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board. The plant comes with quick vaccine fill-finish capabilities and offers end-to-end pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services, and will help to bolster the local supply chain and help the region prepare for future health emergencies.
The plant features a high-speed, fully automated aseptic fill-finish line for both small and large molecules, including vaccines. It complements the bioprocess design center and customer experience center located in Shanghai, which opened in 2018, as well as two operational lab facilities with the latest life science, analytical, and bioprocessing technologies. The new plant is expected to increase its number of employees in Singapore to 2,000.
Thermo Fisher’s expansion is just one of many in recent years by Biopharma industry giants in Singapore. Last year, other companies such as Merck & Co., Sanofi, WuXi Biologics and GSK either announced plans to build new plants or wrapped up expansion projects. Merck opened a new USD 500 Million plant in October 2022, while GSK began operations at a new cancer drug production site in November 2022. Additionally, Sanofi announced plans to open a USD 430 million “factory of the future” for vaccines by 2025, and WuXi Biologics is in the midst of developing its USD 1.4 billion production and R&D site in Singapore.
(Source: FiercePharma, Pharmaceutical Technology)
