Pfizer has opened an extension to its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) plant in Singapore. The SGD $1 billion ($743 million) facility covers 429,000 square feet and will produce antibiotics and small molecules to treat cancer and pain, the company said.
At the Tuas Biomedical Park, Pfizer began operations at the 22-acre site in 2003. Construction on the extension started in 2020. The expansion will create 250 additional jobs. Manufacturing is already underway at the extension, Pfizer said.
“This expanded facility not only grows our overall manufacturing footprint, but also strengthens our ability to manufacture breakthrough medicine that change patients’ lives,” Mike McDermott, Pfizer’s chief global supply officer, said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Young.
In addition to its current setup, Pfizer can add processing suites, dry-end suites, dispensaries, warehouse and ancillary equipment as needed, the company said.
The facility has achieved a Green Mark gold certification, a Singapore accreditation for environmental sustainability. Pfizer plans to reach a net-zero emissions standard by 2040.
Pfizer, which established its presence in Singapore in 1964, is one of many Big Pharmas that have set up operations on the island nation.
In May, AstraZeneca revealed plans to build a $1.5 billion antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing facility in Singapore. In January, AbbVie said it broke ground on a $223 million expansion of its manufacturing plant in the country to help bolster global biologics capacity.
In March, Novartis started work on its own $256 million Singapore expansion, which will primarily support manufacturing of antibody drugs. A year ago, GSK broke ground on a $254 million drug substance vaccines plant in Tuas which the company expects to complete in 2027.
And in 2022, Merck opened a new packaging facility and broke ground on a site due for completion in 2026 that will produce inhalers.