West Pharmaceutical Invests in Singapore Plant

OUTSOURCING NEWS

In efforts to meet the needs of its growing Asia Pacific business, West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (Lionville, PA) is expanding its Singapore facility. The S$45 million project will add manufacturing for its technologies for medical device components, which includes meeting GMP and other regulatory requirements.

Scheduled for completion in 2010, the project will create more than 100 jobs. The addition to the plant, established in 1983, also increases the company's Singapore production by 30%.

“We are pleased that West Pharma has chosen to further expand its manufacturing base and move into high-end products,” said Yeoh Keat-Chuan at the ceremony for the plant expansion. “This is a strong testimony to Singapore's qualified workforce and established track record for meeting the stringent regulatory requirements of the biomedical industry.” Chuan is the executive director of the biomedical sciences group for the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The growth of West Pharma comes at a time when Singapore has secured investments from four manufacturers of biologics and vaccines that are delivered in liquid form. West Pharma makes the components of the injectable drug-delivery systems and prefilled syringes that can be used with these products. Last year, the plant made more than 2.5 billion units of drug-delivery components and systems.

“Singapore, with its strategic location and flourishing biomedical industry, is a very important hub for West [Pharmaceutical's] Asia Pacific customers,” said Ron van Dijk, managing director and vice president, Asia Pacific, in a company announcement. He added that the expansion would help the company meet the increasing needs of its customers in the region.

West Pharma Singapore manufactures packaging components that are used for injectable drug-delivery and diagnostic systems. These products include serum, sleeve, and lyophilization stoppers, syringe plungers, flashback bulbs, aluminum seals, aluminum seals with plastic buttons, and intravenous infusion stoppers and disks. The Singapore site can also apply films and coatings that improve product performance. Customers can request ready-to-sterilize components that are processed in a pharmaceutical washer and packaged in a Class 100 cleanroom.

The company's local customers include Becton Dickinson and Baxter. Its regional customers in China, India, and Australia include GE Healthcare and Hospira.

According to Chuan, Singapore's medical technology industry has grown so much during the past five years that its manufacturing output reached more than S$2 billion in 2006. The industry makes up about 60% of the 10,000 jobs in the country's biomedical sciences manufacturing sector.

West Pharma has also created a partnership with government agencies in Singapore to help improve the skills and productivity of its employees. The company is working with the Workforce Development Agency to redesign its manufacturing process to assist older workers.

The company's consolidated net sales reached S$1.39 billion in 2006, which was an increase of 30.5% from the previous year. It has 50 locations worldwide and currently employs 400 people in Singapore. Its other products include stoppers and seals for vials, and closures and disposable components used in syringe, intravenous, and blood collection systems.

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