GSK Plans Increase in Antibiotic Production in Singapore

GSK will invest £38M (S$77M) in its Quality Road manufacturing plant in Singapore to construct an additional downstream isolation facility for production of amoxicillin, the company announced on June 25, 2015. The addition will increase production by 50% and help the company meet the growing demand for antibiotics in emerging markets, GSK said in a press release. The Quality Road enzymatic manufacturing facility is GSK’s sole production site for amoxicillin, the active compound used in the manufacture of antibiotics. The investment marks an important milestone in GSK’s partnership with Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and is a key element of the GSK­–EDB 10-year Singapore Manufacturing Roadmap announced in 2012.

The facility's design is a sustainable approach to the manufacture of amoxicillin and is consistent with GSK’s commitment with the EDB to improve the efficiency of pharmaceutical and fine-chemical manufacture in Singapore. The facility uses enzymatic technology rather than older chemical processes, which reduces carbon footprint by up to 25%. The improved process involves fewer steps under milder conditions and uses less organic solvents, resulting in the elimination of almost 80% of the organic waste associated with the older chemical process, while maintaining product quality standards, says the company.

"This latest investment in sustainable manufacturing and our recent investment announced in October 2014 for a continuous manufacturing facility in Jurong, which produces one of GSK’s key active pharmaceutical ingredients, demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that patients around the world receive the medicines they need and also underscores our shared vision with the EDB to improve the technical capabilities of Singapore’s biomedical science sector," said Roger Connor, president of Global Manufacturing and Supply, GSK, in a press release.

"Singapore is a leading global location for best-in-class biopharmaceutical manufacturing," said Yeoh Keat Chuan, managing director of the Singapore EDB, in the press release. "This project, which is part of the GSK–EDB 10-year manufacturing roadmap, is aligned with Singapore’s vision to become a key site for research, development, and industrialization of cutting edge pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies. This will further enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of Singapore. We are proud to be a partner to GSK in creating the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing."

Source: GSK