Pfizer investing $1b in new pharmaceutical ingredient plant in Singapore, creating 250 jobs

SINGAPORE — US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer opened its new $1 billion plant in Singapore on Tuesday (July 23).

The 429,000 sq ft plant in Tuas Biomedical Park will produce the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) — the biologically active component of a drug — for Pfizer's cancer, pain, and antibiotic medicines.

The new investment will create 250 new highly skilled jobs, said the company.

Pfizer said the state-of-the-art facility, an extension of its 20-year-old site in Singapore, has passed all necessary final performance qualification checks and begun commercial manufacturing of products.

The facility has also achieved a Green Mark gold certification, a Singapore accreditation for environmental sustainability, and will help Pfizer's goal to achieve the voluntary net-zero standard by 2040.

Mike McDermott, chief global supply officer and executive vice-president of Pfizer, said the new plant will be one of the most highly automated among the company's more than 30 manufacturing sites, which are spread across six continents.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, McDermott said: "This expanded facility not only grows our overall manufacturing footprint but also strengthens our ability to manufacture breakthrough medicines that change patients' lives."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said Pfizer's investment is a testament to how global biopharmaceutical companies can tap Singapore's skilled talent and advanced manufacturing capabilities to launch life-saving medicines.

"In line with our Manufacturing 2030 vision, we want to establish Singapore as a global leader in advanced manufacturing," said Gan in his guest-of-honour speech at the ceremony.

The biomedical sciences industry, which comprises the biopharmaceutical and medical technology sectors, is a key contributor to Singapore's economy.

In 2022, the industry accounted for 2.3 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product and manufactured close to $39 billion worth of products for the global market.

Singapore hosts the best-in-class manufacturing facilities of seven out of the top 10 biopharmaceutical companies, producing a wide range of drugs from APIs to biologics and cell therapies.

Several new investments were announced by pharmaceutical companies in recent years.

For instance, Britian's GSK in July 2023 broke ground of its $343 million vaccines facility at Tuas. In May 2024, British-Swedish multinational AstraZeneca said it was finalising plans to establish a US$1.5 billion (S$2.02 billion) manufacturing facility in Singapore.

Jacqueline Poh, managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board, said in a statement that Pfizer's latest investment in Tuas Biomedical Park reinforces Singapore's standing as a leading biomedical sciences hub.

"We look forward to deepening our longstanding partnership with Pfizer to create meaningful jobs and economic opportunities for Singapore," she said.

Pfizer — now the largest contributor to pharmaceutical manufacturing output in Singapore — established its presence here in 1964. In 2003, it started its API manufacturing facility and set up its regional headquarters overseeing Asian emerging markets.

Pfizer has also expanded into research and development activities in Singapore.

For example, in 2016, Pfizer launched the Manufacturing Technology Development Centre that develops engineering and chemistry solutions for its manufacturing sites globally.

The company was also an early member of the Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (PIPS) back in 2018. PIPS is an industry-led platform through which Pfizer developed new manufacturing technologies for APIs in collaboration with local research institutions and universities.

DPM Gan acknowledge Pfizer's close partnership with the Singapore Government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Pfizer had gone beyond contractual obligations to accelerate vaccine deliveries at critical junctures to meet the needs of our national vaccination programme, enabling Singapore to increase our vaccination rates rapidly," he said.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.