AsianScientist (Jul. 15, 2019) – British pharmaceutical company GSK has opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility worth S$130 million (~US$95.8 million). The new facilities are located in GSK’s Jurong site and include two continuous manufacturing facilities, and an expansion of one of the site’s production buildings.
One of the new continuous manufacturing facilities is part of Jurong’s R&D Pilot Plant and will strengthen the site’s capability in drug manufacture by allowing faster production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for clinical trials. The first new chemical entity to be developed at the new facility will be Daprodustat, a new oral treatment for anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease. The new manufacturing process is expected to reduce production time of Daprodustat, enabling faster access to this medicine for patients globally.
The expansion of the production building which makes APIs for HIV medicines will strengthen GSK’s capability to produce Dolutegravir, a key GSK asset for HIV treatment. The investment has enabled the renewal of critical infrastructure in the production building and has allowed GSK to test and develop digital technologies in the manufacturing process to drive productivity improvement.
The investment demonstrates GSK’s commitment to Singapore as a key manufacturing and supply site for GSK’s global pharmaceutical business and a testbed for advanced manufacturing technology. The investment behind the new facilities is part of the GSK-EDB ten-year Singapore Manufacturing Roadmap.
“Over the years, GSK has continually partnered with Singapore to develop advanced manufacturing technologies, such as continuous manufacturing and digital manufacturing. They have also been a strong partner in training our local talent. These efforts have supported the growth of the industry as a whole and in turn has created diverse and attractive job opportunities for Singapore,” said Mr. Chng Kai Fong, managing director of EDB.
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Source: GSK Singapore; Photo: Shutterstock.
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