GSK invests S$343 million in state-of-the-art vaccines facility expansion at Tuas Singapore

GSK today celebrated the groundbreaking of its S$343 million state-of-the-art vaccines facility at Tuas which will manufacture drug substances for GSK’s vaccines that protect against Hepatitis B. This expansion of the existing GSK facility at Tuas will start construction in the third quarter of 2023, with completion targeted by 2025. The site will commence commercial production in 2027. Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, was the guest of honour at the groundbreaking ceremony.

 

The GSK Tuas site, opened in 2009, is the first vaccines manufacturing plant in Singapore. The site’s Hepatitis B facility expansion will produce and supply worldwide drug substances for GSK’s Hepatitis B vaccines. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Hepatitis B resulted in an estimated 820,000 deaths globally in 2019, with 1.5 million new infections each year.¹ By 2030, WHO aims to reduce the number of new Hepatitis B infections by 90%, with vaccination being at the core of its strategy.¹

This facility expansion will add about 100 jobs in fields that include production, quality assurance, quality control, Manufacturing Science and Technology (MSAT), technical services, learning and development as well as operational excellence. Advanced technology will be deployed at the site, like process analytical technology (PAT) and process digital twins that will innovate how we control the manufacturing process to ensure consistent product quality and output.

To accelerate achieving GSK’s ambition of Carbon Net Zero by 2030, the facility expansion has, among other sustainability features, renewable energy generation, process improvements, and energy-efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The new facility is designed to have a total annual energy savings of about 800 Megawatt-hour that equals reduction of an estimated 300 tons of carbon dioxide emission. This is equivalent to powering about 200 four-room Housing Development Board (HDB) flats for one year.²

The facility expansion reinforces the GSK Tuas site as an important part of GSK’s manufacturing footprint in Singapore. It will produce drug substances for Hepatitis B vaccines in addition to the site’s current production of drug substances for GSK’s polysaccharide conjugate vaccines and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccines. These vaccines protect against invasive diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis.   

 

1.     World Health Organisation (WHO). Global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis: 2016–2021. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-HIV-2016.06

2.     Energy Market Authority (EMA). Average Monthly Household Electricity Consumption by Dwelling Type, 2005 – 2018. Available at: 8RSU.pdf (ema.gov.sg)