A recovery from dismal 2017, which marked the sector's worst
contraction in two decades, would underpin Singapore's economic
growth. Pharmaceuticals is the No.2 contributor to the country's
manufacturing output and accounts for 3 percent of its GDP.
The sector will see a "robust" 2018, Singapore's Economic
Development Board (EDB) told Reuters.
"The opening of new sites like AbbVie's biologics manufacturing
facility and the ramp up of others including Amgen and Novartis
reflect strong fundamentals ... we expect the manufacturing activity
to remain robust for 2018," said Ho Weng Si, director of biomedical
sciences for EDB.
"Outlook for the industry as a whole remains positive for the next
few years," Ho added, citing the pace of new drug approvals by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration that hit a 21-year high in 2017.
Singapore is well placed to benefit from this uptick in approvals as
it hosts facilities of eight of the world's top 10 drugmakers - such
as Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Sanofi.
Sanofi, which in Singapore mainly produces ingredients for
blood-thinning drugs shipped globally, told Reuters it expects
production "to be relatively stable to slightly increasing in coming
years" as it invests to upgrade capacity.
A quarterly EDB survey of the manufacturing sector shows the
pharmaceuticals industry is the most optimistic about production
over January-March, with a net weighted balance of 56 percent of
firms expecting output to rise from the preceding three months.
EDB's Ho and the survey did not provide a specific forecast.
Data shows pharmaceutical production dropped in January, albeit at a
milder pace, and rose 15.2 percent from a year ago in February,
bringing gains so far this year to about 7 percent.
Output shrank 15.6 percent in 2017, the largest annual contraction
since at least 1993.
[to top of second column] |
Singapore's pharmaceutical output has risen more than three-fold
since the start of this century, with the sector generating S$17
billion ($13 billion) worth of products last year.
ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY, AUTOMATION
The outlook for recovery, however, is not free of headwinds.
Output in pharmaceuticals is inherently volatile because production
happens in batches, which can take anywhere from a few days to weeks
to make.
But thanks to advancements in technology, industry players are
hoping to achieve more consistent production levels.
GSK, which has been manufacturing in Singapore for nearly 50 years,
has been pioneering a technology called continuous manufacturing
where instead of making products in batches, materials are
constantly added and products removed.
Last year, for the first time products were commercially made using
this technology.
"The pharma industry has to progress on the technology front ... to
ensure we increase productivity," said Lim Hock Heng, a site
director in Singapore for GSK.
Mundipharma hopes to start commercial production of antiseptics at
its new plant in Singapore as early as the fourth quarter of 2019 -
which according to CEO Raman Singh "will be the most automated plant
in the world compared to any other competitors".
(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano and John Geddie; Editing by Jack Kim
and Himani Sarkar)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |