GSK invests in continuous manufacturing facility at Jurong, Singapore
The facility will be completed by the end of next near and fully operational in 2016
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is investing £19m in its first continuous manufacturing facility in Singapore, marking an important milestone in the UK pharmaceutical company's long-standing partnership with Singapore’s Economic Development Board.
When completed by the end of 2015, the new facility will become operational in the first quarter of 2016 and produce one of GSK’s key respiratory active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). By adopting continuous manufacturing, the company will produce the API more quickly, while maintaining the same high-quality standards. Continuous manufacturing requires fewer manual interventions than batch production, where each stage of the production process is taken sequentially, with hold times required at each.
The flexible nature of the production process means the volume of API produced can be adapted according to demand. There are also a number of environmental benefits from this technique, which will help to reduce the Jurong site’s carbon footprint by more than 50%.
Roger Connor, President of Global Manufacturing and Supply at GSK, said: 'The decision to invest in Jurong was straightforward; the site offers exceptional technical expertise and is recognition of the fantastic support we have had over the years, and continue to receive, from the Economic Development Board (EDB) and other Singaporean government institutions.'
Yeoh Keat Chuan, Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) said: 'The pharmaceutical sector is important for Singapore's economic growth and competitiveness, contributing 17% of our manufacturing output in 2013. Through continued investments in technology and talent, we are committed to maintain Singapore as the best-in-class pharmaceutical manufacturing location globally. GSK’s decision to build a continuous processing facility, its first in the world, is aligned with Singapore’s vision and efforts in where we want to grow the industry.'
