Global pharma giants GSK, Sanofi and Takeda signed on with with a partnership of agencies to advance biologic manufacturing in Singapore.
The production partnership is through the Biologics Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (BioPIPS), which is a consortium started by A*STAR with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board.
The goal of the partnership is to leverage research and innovation to boost biologics manufacturing in Singapore, including recombinant therapeutic proteins and vaccines, the group said in a Dec. 6 press release.
"New opportunities will emerge as the biomanufacturing industry undergoes major changes brought about by the rapid pace of digitalization, Industry 4.0, and the need for greater sustainability,” Lim Keng Hui, assistant chief executive of the science and engineering research council at A*STAR, said in the release. “As Singapore makes biopharma production a priority area … A*STAR aims to contribute our R&D capabilities through BioPIPS to help make the local biomanufacturing industry become more agile and better positioned to benefit from new products and technologies.”
Singapore's Manufacturing 2030 vision aims to anchor leading manufacturing activities to grow the country's manufacturing value-add by 50% from 2020. The group hopes the efforts will boost the country’s capabilities to meet the growing global demand for biologics and vaccines as well as equip pharmaceutical companies with the resources to scale up and respond more rapidly to future pandemics.
In November, GSK opened a $33 million production facility to produce a cytotoxic component for antibody-drug conjugates to treat cancer.
Back in April, Sanofi began construction on a $434 million, “first-of-its-kind,” fully digitalized and modular vaccine production plant in Singapore that it said would capitalize on Singapore’s position as a regional “innovation hub for the healthcare industry.”