Pharma giant AstraZeneca to build $2b manufacturing facility in S'pore

Global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca intends to build a US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) manufacturing facility in Singapore, the company said on May 20.

- Sue-Ann Tan

It aims to begin the designing and construction of the facility by the end of 2024, and targets it to be operationally ready from 2029.

The company's new facility in Singapore will be designed for manufacturing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to enhance the global supply of its ADC portfolio, it said in a statement. ADCs are a form of next-generation treatment that can deliver highly potent cancer-killing agents directly to cancer cells through a targeted antibody.

The new facility will mark AstraZeneca's first end-to-end ADC production site, fully incorporating all steps of the manufacturing process at a commercial scale, the statement said.

It noted that manufacturing ADCs is a multi-step process that includes producing the antibodies, among other steps.

Ms Pam Cheng, AstraZeneca's executive vice-president of global operations and information technology, said in an interview with The Straits Times that "many meaningful jobs" will be created at the new facility.

"In terms of the types of jobs, I think it's fair to say they will be among the most innovative and technical, given the type of manufacturing processes for ADC," she said.

These will include scientists and engineers, supply chain experts, digitalisation and information technology experts, and people working in procurement and infrastructure.

When asked how many people would be hired, she said: "It's dangerous to quote a number right now just because we have yet to finish the design and finalise the scope, but it's effectively four manufacturing plants in one."