Novartis breaks ground on Singapore facility
tabletting facility in Singapore, providing further evidence of the
emergence of the island state as a pharmaceutical hub.
The facility will employ some 150 staff to manufacture at least two of the company's blockbuster products, the blood pressure drug Diovan (valsartan) and cancer treatment Glivec (imatinib), as well as its irritable bowel symdrome treatment Zelnorm (tegaserod maleate).
Singapore's biomedical sciences (BMS) industry's manufacturing output grew to S$15.8 billion (€7.5bn) in 2004, a 33.2 per cent increase over the year before, helped by major investments from some of the world's largest drug companies which brought pharma's contribution to 88 per cent of that total. In addition to Novartis, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline have also announced major production investments in Singapore in the last few months.
Singapore has focused on pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers in recent years to diversify its economy amid competition from lower-cost economies like China and Vietnam. For example, the island's economy suffered a blow when US hard drive manufacturer Maxtor shifted production from Singapore to China, resulting in the loss of 5,500 jobs.
The country has the goal of reaching S$25 billion in BMS manufacturing output and an employment of 15,000 by 2015.
However, Philip Yeo, the chairman of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research who presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for Novartis' new plant, said drugmakers worldwide face strong competitive pressure this year. When asked by reporters for a forecast for Singapore's biomedical output for 2005, Yeo replied: "It will be flat. You can't keep growing at 30 per cent or something every year."
Novartis' new facility will have a targeted capacity of 3.5 billion units annually, and this is expected to increase over time based on product demand. It has been designed with LEAN manufacturing practices and systems, said the company. LEAN manufacturing is a method used to achieve reduction in overall production cycle times to speed product to market while ensuring Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) from raw material to finished product.
Novartis already has a significant presence in Singapore, including the recently-opened Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, the regional headquarters for its Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz and Medical Nutrition businesses, and the contact lens manufacturing plant of Novartis' subsidiary Ciba Vision.
