SINGAPORE: Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced it would build a cancer treatment facility in Singapore. The US$1.5 billion (S$2.02 billion) facility will be operationally ready by 2029.
It will be AstraZeneca’s first facility to complete the full manufacturing process for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), described as next-generation treatments able to deliver powerful cancer-killing agents directly to cancer cells via a targeted antibody.
The Singapore facility, which has received support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), is set to enhance the company’s global supply of its ADC portfolio.
Manufacturing ADCs has a number of steps, starting with antibody production and including the synthesis of chemotherapy drug and linker, the joining of the drug-linker to the antibody, and filling the completed ADC substance.
“AstraZeneca has built an industry-leading portfolio of cancer medicines including antibody drug conjugates which have shown enormous potential to replace traditional chemotherapy for patients across many settings.
Singapore is one of the world’s most attractive countries for investment given its reputation for excellence in complex manufacturing, and I am excited for AstraZeneca to locate our $1.5 billion ADC manufacturing facility in the country,” said Mr Pascal Soriot, the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
The facility will be a greenfield one, meaning that it will be built from scratch in an undeveloped area within or outside a city.
The Chairman of EDB, Mr Png Cheong Boon, said:
“This greenfield investment is a strong show of confidence in Singapore’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and talent, strengthens our ecosystem in supporting the development and manufacturing of precision medicines, and creates meaningful jobs and economic opportunities for Singapore.
We look forward to a successful partnership with AstraZeneca.”
In its statement announcing the US$1.5 billion plant, AstraZeneca said that as part of its commitment to driving sustainability in healthcare, the company will collaborate with the government of Singapore and other partners on green solutions for the new plant, which will be designed to emit no carbons beginning from the first day of its operations.
The design and construction of the facility are set to start by the end of this year.
AstraZeneca announced earlier this month that it started withdrawing its Covid-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, worldwide. In 2023, the company began to move toward developing drugs to target obesity and vaccines for the respiratory syncytial virus. /TISG
Read also: AstraZeneca starts withdrawing COVID-19 vaccine as global demand drops
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