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Singapore is a vital ingredient to pharmaceutical giant.
"Turning cutting-edge science into new medicine is what a company like Merck does best and we are pleased that our fast-growing operations in Singapore are helping to fulfil that promise."
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Just three years after launching an ambitious blueprint to become a world-class Biomedical Sciences hub, Singapore has captured the mindshare of the international biomedical community and is on track to achieve its goal of reaching its target manufacturing output of S$12 billion by 2005. This prolific growth has also been fuelled, to a large extent, by global pharmaceutical giants such as Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck), which comprises a sophisticated network of more than 30 production facilities in 25 countries, with approximately 16,000 employees worldwide.
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Merck demonstrated its confidence in Singapore by opening, in October, its second production facility here in two years. This new pharmaceutical formulation facility brings the company's total investment in Singapore to more than US$500 million and solidifies its strong presence in the field. Merck's two facilities, which comprise 12 buildings on a plot of 49 acres, are located at Tuas Biomedical Park.
Merck is a prime example of the many biomedical science investors leveraging on the immense opportunities in Singapore to expand the depth and breadth of their pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. These include a wide spectrum of activities such as the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients to pharmaceutical formulation and finishing, sterile fill and finish, delivery devices and pharmaceutical packaging.
"At Merck we are very proud to be a part of the dynamic growth of Singapore and the Economic Development Board's vision to create an environment that is conducive to our highly technological business," declared Raymond Gilmartin, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Merck.
"Turning cutting-edge science into new medicine is what a company like Merck does best and we are pleased that our fast-growing operations in Singapore are helping to fulfil that promise."
THE BEGINNING OF A VALUABLE PARTNERSHIP
MSD Technology Singapore Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, USA. Merck is a global research-driven pharmaceutical products and services company. Merck discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of innovative products to improve human and animal health, directly and through its joint ventures.
In 2001, as Singapore was on the cusp of launching itself as a biomedical sciences regional hotspot, MSD gave the nation's efforts a strong boost by selecting Singapore as the host nation to set up its first major manufacturing facility - a bulk pharmaceutical plant - in the Asia-Pacific region to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients for the world market. The state-of-the-art US$400 million greenfield primary manufacturing plant also has the honour of being the very first tenant at Singapore's Tuas Biomedical Park, a 160 ha landmark industrial park dedicated solely to biomedical sciences manufacturing activities.
FORGING STRONGER TIES
Just as the bulk manufacturing plant got rolling, the forward-thinking MSD began making plans for the construction of a new pharmaceutical formulation facility to expand its scope of activities in Singapore to encompass both primary and secondary manufacturing. Located alongside the bulk pharmaceutical plant, the new high-tech formulation facility with more than 15,000 sq m of floor space is expected to manufacture a new product which combines a recently approved cholesterol medication, ezetimibe, with a widely used cholesterol medication, simvastatin.
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"In manufacturing our medicines in a cost-effective manner, the company has three priorities - producing medicines that meet the most stringent quality standards, conducting business with the highest regard for the environment, and ensuring the safety and health of our employees, our neighbours, and the patients who depend on our medicines," said Richard T Clark, President of the Merck Manufacturing Division. Clark believes that the Singapore plant is well designed and equipped to meet these requirements. "The highly advanced technology at this site exemplifies Merck's commitment to operating world-class manufacturing facilities that enhance our global operations and enable us to meet worldwide demand for our medicines."
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With both the bulk pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical formulation plants fully functional, Merck's Singapore operations have single site capabilities for both active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing and pharmaceutical formulation and finishing. MSD now has a highly-skilled staff strength of 250. This is in addition to more than 95 employees in the company's Singapore sales and marketing subsidiary (MSD I.A. Corp) and nearly 50 employees in the logistical and information technology groups based in Singapore to support Merck's operations throughout Asia and the Pacific.
A DISTINGUISHED FRIEND
Raymond Gilmartin was last year conferred the Public Service Star - Distinguished Friends of Singapore Award for his outstanding personal contributions to the country's economic development. It is Singapore's most prestigious business accolade for international investors.
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Gilmartin's involvement in Singapore's biomedical sciences industry goes back a long way. Prior to joining Merck, the intrepid entrepreneur was Chairman, President and CEO of Beckton Dickinson (BD) and played an integral role in BD's decision to set up its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters as well as a highlyautomated manufacturing facility for hypodermic syringes in Singapore in the early 1990s. Gilmartin was also instrumental in the conclusion and passage of the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement to cement the already firm economic ties between Singapore and the US.
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"Merck is proud to have established strong roots in Singapore, a country which has recognised the value and importance of a strong biomedical industry, both to its own economy and to the health of people everywhere," Gilmartin said of the strong strategic alliance between the city-state and his company. "Your infrastructure, your record of growth and your commitment to economic development are examples for the world to follow."
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