AbbVie Inc., a research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott, announced yesterday that it will open its first manufacturing plant in Singapore.
The company will invest $400 million for small molecule and biologics active drug substance manufacturing. The facility will provide capacity for emerging compounds within the company's oncology and immunology pipeline.
"As Asia's fastest-growing bio-cluster, Singapore is an ideal location to expand our manufacturing network while maintaining rigorous standards of quality and delivery for the patients we serve around the world," said Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, Ph.D., senior vice president, Operations, AbbVie. "Our presence in Singapore will help assure geographic balance and continuity of product supply as well as increased capacity to deliver on our growing biologics and small molecule product pipeline."
AbbVie's existing presence in Singapore includes 120 personnel, supporting commercial operations, global R&D and general operations. The investment is expected to result in additional headcount of more than 250 new employees. AbbVie anticipates the new facility will be fully operational by 2019.
"We are very pleased that Singapore will host AbbVie's first manufacturing facility in Asia ," said Kevin Lai, Director, Biomedical Sciences of the Singapore Economic Development Board. “This investment is a testament of Singapore's strong biologics manufacturing capabilities. To support the continued growth of this sector, Singapore will be investing heavily in human capital development, and new programs will be put in place to train biologics manufacturing talent ahead of demand."
The company has other operations in Asia including research and development functions in Tokyo, Japan and Shanghai, China, as well as commercial operations throughout the region.
AbbVie's current manufacturing network includes 12 sites across the U.S., Europe and Puerto Rico, as well as strategic partnerships with third-party manufacturers.
