Sanofi strengthens vaccines manufacturing capacity in Singapore

The company will invest €400 million in a new site to enable it to produce vaccines on a massive scale for Asia

The five-year project is currently entering its design phase with construction expected to begin in Q3 2021, with the site expected to be fully operational in Q1 2026 once all qualifications and validations of the first manufactured vaccine have been completed.

Sanofi said the facility will "push the boundaries of operation through cutting-edge manufacturing and digital technologies."

"By investing in a new production site in Singapore, Sanofi is aiming to strengthen production capacity to meet ever-growing global demands on vaccines, and answer more rapidly to future pandemics,” said Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sanofi Pasteur.

The factory will be designed around a central unit housing several fully digitalized modules allowing production of three to four vaccines simultaneously, versus only one in current industrial sites.

It will also be able to leverage multiple vaccine manufacturing technology platforms based on different cell types, allowing the production of a specific vaccine to be prioritized in a faster timeframe depending on public health needs, Sanofi said.

Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board said Sanofi’s decision to locate its first-in-Asia digitally-enabled vaccine production center in Singapore "is an endorsement of Singapore’s position as a leading centre for advanced manufacturing."

The project is expected to create up to 200 local jobs and enhance Singapore’s position as a regional innovation hub for the healthcare industry.

Last month, Sanofi announced it would invest more than €600 million to build a vaccine manufacturing facility at its existing site in Toronto to provide additional antigen and filling capacity for its Fluzone influenza vaccine for the Canadian, US and European markets.