BioNTech on Monday confirmed that its first mRNA manufacturing plant in Singapore will be operational in late 2023, with the facility also serving as the German company's regional headquarters.
Located at Tuas Biomedical Park, the facility is currently owned by pharmaceutical company Novartis and will be acquired by BioNTech. The transaction price was not disclosed.
The acquisition is part of BioNTech's strategy to expand its footprint in Asia and will be its first such facility in the region. The company has offices in Singapore and Shanghai.
It will retrofit the facility with its mRNA production capabilities.
The plant is expected to have a production capacity of up to several hundred million doses of mRNA-based vaccines after a full build-out, the firm said in a media statement on Monday.
It is also expected to create more than 100 jobs by 2024 in Singapore in areas such as operations, engineering, quality control, finance, human resources and supply chain management. Recruitment for these positions has started.
On why Singapore was chosen to house this facility, BioNTech chief operating officer Sierk Poetting said: “Having multiple nodes in our production network is a strategic step towards building our global capabilities.
