Merck opens new Singapore plant

Merck opens new Singapore plant

SINGAPORE: U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. opened its second manufacturing plant in Singapore on Thursday, bringing the firm's total investments in the Southeast Asian state to more than US$500 million.

The formulation plant, whose investment costs are estimated at about $100 million, will produce the firm's recently approved new drug to treat cholesterol problems, company officials said.

"The sophisticated formulation facility being dedicated today will provide physicians and patients throughout the world with high quality, efficacious medicines," Merck chairman Raymond V. Gilmartin said.

Merck's new facility, located alongside its first plant opened in 2001, has more than 15,000 square metres (161,000 square feet) of floor space and will bring the firm's workforce here to more than 300.

Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, who attended the opening ceremony, said the new plant was of significance to Singapore as it seeks to establish a new source of growth for the manufacturing sector. --AFP