The company, which ‘cut the ribbon’ on the 29,000sq ft laboratory expansion this morning, is effectively doubling its genomics offering, as well as adding anatomic pathology and nutritional chemistry capabilities at its site in Singapore, citing current and future growth of drug development in the Asia Pacific region.
“For the last 13 years Covance has provided central laboratory testing services in Singapore, where we have seen increasing demand for efficient, high-quality clinical trial data and support,” said Jon Koch - Corporate Vice President and Global General Manager, Central Laboratory Services, Covance – in a press statement.
Koch added that on top of continued commitment in the region, the expansion helps to serve “local and multinational customers' R&D needs in key therapeutic areas like oncology and metabolic diseases.”
According to the company, this latest investment in Singapore makes Covance’s facility the largest of its kind on the island state and is part of an overall Asia-Pacific strategy which includes recent developments in Japan and China.
Last December Covance received GLP certification from China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA – previously known as the SFDA) at its Shanghai early-phase facility, boosting its preclinical service offering in the country, and – according to a statement to Outsourcing-Pharma.com at the time - becoming “the only global CRO with SFDA GLP certification.”
Covance also has a grip in the Japanese preclinical market with two sites in Japan, plus collaborations with local firms.
Singapore
The island state has, due to its location and national incentives, become a hive of pharma activity and a gateway into the rest of Asia.
Regarding this latest investment, Lai, Director, Biomedical Sciences Group, from the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB), told Outsourcing-Pharma.com:“Covance’s expansion in Singapore demonstrates our attractiveness as a strategic location for CROs to tap on the fast growing drug development and clinical research opportunities in the region."
Singapore has drawn much interest from global manufacturing firms, with Amgen’s recent $200m spend on a new biomanufacturing facility following the lead of Novartis and its $500m investment last November.
Lai continued to say: "We are pleased that these companies have leveraged Singapore as a base for them to assess and access new growth markets in Asia. These investments continue to help us build up the translational and clinical research infrastructure in Singapore, and augments the integrated biomedical sciences ecosystem that we have built up over the years."
However, companies have had a mixed reaction to clinical research in Singapore in recent months. Whilst PPD expanded its lab services there in February, Pfizer announced it would shutter its clinical research unit on the island by the end of the year.