BioNTech to invest 'hundreds of millions' to set up HQ, make vaccines in Singapore

BIONTECH will pump in “hundreds of millions of dollars” to set up its South-east Asia headquarters and open a vaccine manufacturing facility in Singapore, as part of plans to establish a footprint in Asia.

The move, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will see the German biotech company create over 80 jobs in the Republic in areas such as production, management and quality control, the company said in a media briefing on Monday.

Its Singapore office is slated to open this year, while the facility could be operational from 2023.

The facility will allow it to provide mRNA-based products to the region and across the world, it said, adding that the new facility can also provide “rapid response production capability for South-east Asia to address potential pandemic threats”.

This is because it will be equipped to produce a range of novel mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases and cancer. BioNTech said that the plant will have an estimated annual capacity of several hundred million doses of mRNA-based vaccines depending on the specific vaccine.

Ugur Sahin, chief executive officer and co-founder of BioNTech, said at the briefing that having a manufacturing hub in Singapore will mean that a “percentage (of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured) will go to city-state”.

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Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing noted during the briefing that the new facility would enhance Singapore’s supply chain resilience and strengthen its position as a regional innovation hub for the healthcare industry.

The manufacturing hub will also strengthen the portfolio of different vaccine production technologies in Singapore, he said. “We’re not just talking about meeting the immediate needs (of Singaporeans). Our partnerships need to look at future needs as well and this facility will do just that.”

Beyond the pandemic, companies are also studying the use of mRNA for other diseases including cancer, which could be groundbreaking.

Beh Swan Gin, chairman of EDB, noted that this investment could enable Singapore to develop capabilities in “an important new therapeutic modality”, as part of the strategy to grow the Republic’s biopharmaceutical industry.

Singapore provides an excellent business climate, growing biotechnology industry and rich talent base, Dr Sahin said.

The expansion in the city-state, however, will not bolster vaccine production over the next year, he noted, considering that the plant will only be operational by 2023.

But having multiple nodes in the company’s production network is an “important strategic step” in building its global footprint and capabilities, said Dr Sahin. The new plant can also expand BioNTech’s ability to manufacture and deliver mRNA vaccines and therapies around the world.

The German biotech company is not the sole vaccine manufacturer that Singapore has partnered. In April, biopharmaceutical company Sanofi said it plans to invest 400 million euros over five years to create a new vaccine production site in Singapore.

READ MORE: BioNTech committed to deliver 1.8b doses of Covid-19 vaccine this year