AbbVie opens first phase of $320M site in Singapore

Just two years after initial work on a massive dual-focus manufacturing facility in Asia, AbbVie says the first phase is good to go.

The $320-million (S$400-million) plant in Singapore will produce APIs for both its small molecule drugs and biologics. AbbVie has now opened the small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient facility of the manufacturing site.

“Today, with the opening of the first phase of our Singapore facility, we will further strengthen our manufacturing capabilities and continue to enhance our support of AbbVie’s pipeline in the therapeutic areas of oncology and women’s health for patients around the world,” Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, senior VP of operations said in a statement.  

AbbVie in 2014 announced its plans to build the 120,000-square-meter (1.2 million-square-foot) site in the Tuas Biomedical Park in Singapore, its first facility in Asia. When fully operational, the site is slated to employ more than 250, most of whom will come from Singapore. The biologics phase of the new operation is slated to open in 2018.  

Then just  months afterwards, the Chicago area company was able to buy a decommissioned 120,000-square-foot contained API manufacturing facility that was already built in the Tuas Biomedical Park. It picked up some additional buildings and extra equipment as well as the contained API facility in the deal.  

At the time of that announcement, AbbVie said part of the logic in putting a new plant in Singapore, was the fact that it already had R&D facilities in Tokyo and Shanghai, China, and 120 employees in Singapore supporting its R&D and commercial operations throughout Asia.

AbbVie now has 13 locations in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Puerto Rico.

- here’s the release

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