AbbVie acquires manufacturing facility in Singapore
Further expanding its capabilities in Asia
AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical firm, has acquired a small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing site in Singapore's Tuas Biomedical Park. The facility will expand the company's global operations for small molecule and biologics manufacturing, providing increased capacity for compounds within AbbVie's immunology and oncology pipelines.
The company announced in February this year that it would invest US$320m to establish small molecule and biologics active drug substance manufacturing in the country.
Azita Saleki-Gerhardt, Senior Vice President, Operations at AbbVie, said the Singapore site will offer a higher degree of flexibility and scale.
'The facility will support new technologies and the growth of our pipeline in immunology and oncology, helping us to address significant unmet medical needs for patients around the world,' he said.
The Singapore site, AbbVie's first manufacturing facility in Asia, is approximately 120,000m2 and includes a contained API facility, additional buildings and ancillary equipment. The API facility is expected to be fully operational by 2016.
The facility will support new technologies and the growth of our pipeline in immunology and oncology
AbbVie also announced in February that it would construct a bulk biologics manufacturing facility on the Tuas site, which is expected to be operational by 2019.
The combined facilities will increase AbbVie's headcount by more than 250 people, including skilled positions across manufacturing, technical operations, administration, quality, information technology and supply chain. Renovation of the small molecule facility and recruitment for multiple positions are currently in progress.
AbbVie already has research and development (R&D) functions in Tokyo, Japan, and Shanghai, China, as well as commercial operations throughout the region.
The company's existing presence in Singapore has grown to 160 people, supporting commercial operations, global R&D and general operations.
AbbVie's manufacturing network now includes 13 sites across the US, Europe, Asia and Puerto Rico, as well as strategic partnerships with third-party manufacturers.