Hilleman Laboratories is a joint venture between American drugmaker MSD and British charitable foundation Wellcome Trust.
One of its research projects, in collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, examines the viability of a circular ribonucleic acid, or circRNA.
This is a form of RNA vaccine technology whose potential benefits include greater flexibility in adapting a vaccine to evolving virus strains, allowing for faster response to an outbreak, as well as stability at regular fridge temperatures of between two degrees Celsius and eight degrees Celsius.
The facility is designed to enable production to be agile and easily adaptable for future or emergency needs, which means it could pivot to produce new vaccines to fight the next pandemic without disrupting ongoing operations.
“Hilleman Laboratories will be a crucial piece of the pandemic preparedness and resilience jigsaw,” said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at the launch of Aces, which was built based on current good manufacturing practices (cGMP).
“This cGMP facility, together with an existing R&D facility in Biopolis, will form a vaccine and biologics development and manufacturing hub, which is the first of its kind in Singapore, and probably the region.”
Hilleman Laboratories chief executive Raman Rao said: “The opening of the Aces facility marks a significant milestone in our commitment to advancing global public health through innovation and research.
“Hilleman Laboratories is well poised to share our expertise in vaccine and biologics manufacturing to foster local capabilities while bolstering Singapore’s resilience against disease outbreaks, especially those with a pandemic possibility.”
The company will produce vaccines for prevalent infections such as dengue, rotavirus, cholera, pneumococcal, and meningococcal diseases.
Singapore went from not having a single facility producing finished vaccines prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to five over the past two years.
