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