AbbVie pumps $223M into Singapore biologics plant, plots 100 hires

In late 2022, GSK, Sanofi and Takeda signed on with a partnership of local agencies to advance biologic manufacturing in Singapore. Now, a little more than a year later, AbbVie is getting in on the action by starting a major production expansion in the Garden City.

Thursday, AbbVie broke ground on a $223 million expansion of its Singapore manufacturing facility. The project is expected to create more than 100 new jobs and bolster AbbVie's global biologics manufacturing capacity, the company said in a press release.

AbbVie’s Singapore plant produces small molecules and biologics, serving markets around the world. The new investment is pegged to add 24,000 liters of biologics drug-substance capacity, supporting current products as well as emerging immunology and oncology therapeutics in AbbVie’s pipeline.

With the latest investment, AbbVie says it’s invested more than $740 million to acquire, modernize and expand its Singapore facility over the past decade. Once fully operational, the site will employ more than 500 people across manufacturing, quality assurance, supply chain, engineering and administrative roles. The Singapore site is AbbVie’s only manufacturing plant in Asia.

Construction on the expansion is slated to kick off later this year, with operations commencing in 2026.

Meanwhile, Singapore has proved a popular location for pharma expansions in recent years.

Back in December 2022, GSK, Sanofi and Takeda inked a production partnership with the Biologics Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (BioPIPS)—with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board—to boost the industry's biologics manufacturing footprint in Singapore.

Shortly before that, GSK opened up a $33 million plant in Jurong, Singapore, focused on producing key ingredients for cancer treatments.

More recently, Thermo Fisher Scientific in May debuted a new sterile drug plant to bolster Singapore’s supply chain and help the region prepare for future health emergencies. Thermo Fisher completed the project with help from the Singapore Economic Development Board.

 (Source: FiercePharma)