BioNTech to arrange mRNA plant in S’pore by end-2023, providing greater than 100 jobs

SINGAPORE – BioNTech on Monday confirmed that its first mRNA manufacturing plant in Singapore shall be operational in late 2023, with the ability additionally serving as the German company’s regional headquarters.

Positioned at Tuas Biomedical Park, the ability is presently owned by pharmaceutical firm Novartis and shall be acquired by BioNTech. The transaction worth was not disclosed.

The acquisition is a part of BioNTech’s technique to broaden its footprint in Asia and shall be its first such facility within the area. The corporate has places of work in Singapore and Shanghai.

It should retrofit the ability with its mRNA manufacturing capabilities.

The plant is anticipated to have a manufacturing capability of as much as a number of hundred million doses of mRNA-based vaccines after a full build-out, the agency stated in a press assertion on Monday.

It’s also anticipated to create greater than 100 jobs by 2024 in Singapore in areas corresponding to operations, engineering, high quality, finance, human assets, and provide chain administration. Recruitment for these positions has began.

On why Singapore was chosen to deal with this facility, BioNTech chief working officer Sierk Poetting stated: “Having a number of nodes in our manufacturing community is a strategic step in the direction of constructing our international capabilities.

“Singapore has a really well-established ecosystem, expertise, infrastructure and, geopolitically, it’s in the course of every little thing. It’s a excellent distribution hub, and coming to Singapore makes excellent sense for us.”

In 2020, BioNTech equally acquired a manufacturing facility from Novartis within the German metropolis of Marburg. The Singapore acquisition is the corporate’s second such facility on the planet.

In addition to manufacturing Covid-19 mRNA vaccines and boosters on the plant, BioNTech additionally plans to develop and manufacture different therapeutics and vaccines – corresponding to most cancers vaccines – on scientific and industrial scales.

The corporate additionally plans to broaden to different drug courses, corresponding to cell therapies.

Dr Poetting stated: “mRNA is a expertise that may be very versatile and can be utilized over a broad vary of vaccines and therapeutics. Since mRNA manufacturing is additionally an space of artificial biology, operations throughout the laboratory can be digitalised.

“Which means inside a single manufacturing web site, you can find a lot of various kinds of merchandise or therapeutics being developed on the similar time. 

“For this web site, we plan to fabricate mRNA-based vaccines and most cancers remedies based mostly on our rising pipeline and doubtlessly add different modalities as properly, corresponding to cell therapies.”