Page 29 - ASPRI2223 eDirectory

DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2022/2023
Biomedical Manufacturing Output, 2017-2021 (million dollars)
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021 (p)
Pharmaceuticals Medical Technology
Driven by strong demand for vaccines, investment in Singapore’s biomedical industry has reached new levels.
According to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore drew S$968 million in biomedical net asset investment (NAI) in 2021, over 2.5 times more than the cumulative total for 2019 and 2020, accounting for over 11% of the Singapore’s manufacturing NAI.
Top on the list was Sanofi which is building a S$638 million state-of-the-art Evolutive Vaccines Facility (EVF) at Tuas Medical Park, its largest investment to date. Scheduled to come on stream in 2025, it is designed to produce multiple vaccines across different biological platforms, including mRNA, enzymes and monoclonal antibodies. This modularity and flexibility will allow the faster production of a vaccine when a public health crisis hits.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on 20 April 2022, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat, noted, “Disease X is not a matter of if, but when. Yet no one knows what it would be like, nor when it could strike. But we know that vaccines will remain at the heart of how we deal with the threats of infectious diseases.”
“By enhancing our capacity for manufacturing vaccines in Singapore, the region will be in a stronger position for dealing with future pandemics and the ensuing economic shocks.”
17,109.0 21,229.6 14,798.3
12,373.6 13,314.9 14,592.8
Singapore’s strengths
Singapore ranks high on the list as manufacturing hub for pharmaceutical companies for good reasons. As Mr Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice President, Head of Vaccines, Sanofi, told The Straits Times, “Singapore is not just an economic hub but also a technology and innovation hub. To proceed with massive investments like the EVF, you need to have a whole ecosystem of suppliers of raw materials, of starters, of innovation technologies in the same area.”
Already here are 60 manufacturing facilities producing a wide range of products, from antibiotics and flu vaccines to life-saving medicine for hypertension and diabetes. Tuas Biomedical Park, a dedicated hub in Singapore’s west, is home to 13 global biopharmaceutical companies.
Besides global multinational corporations, Singapore has a strong ecosystem of local
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
17,178.2 18,688.4
15,770.4 17,706.5 Source: Economic Development Board
enterprises, including cancer immunotherapy firm Tessa Therapeutics and precision therapy company Hummingbird Bioscience.
Equally important for global vaccine manufacturers is Singapore’s small population. As the production capacities of manufacturing facilities will easily exceed the local requirements, they can safely rule out any possibility that export controls may be enforced during a pandemic. With Singapore’s extensive air and sea connectivity and cold chain facilities, products manufactured here can be easily shipped across the region and beyond.
After donating or selling more than 66 million doses, India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, withheld vaccine export for six months, April to September 2021, to inoculate its own population following a Covid-19 infection spike.
439.5
652.1
123.4
245.3
968.0
Source: Economic Development Board
Total
29,482.7
34,544.6
29,391.1
32,948.6
36,394.9
Net Asset Investment in Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, 2017-2021
Year
Total (million dollars)
21