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Pharma giant Merck opens $20 million lab in S’pore

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German biopharmaceutical company Merck officially opened a $20 million laboratory near Pasir Panjang yesterday.

The Merck Singapore Lab offers services such as cell culture media development, purification process optimisation and biologics drug safety testing.

The 3,800 sq m facility will also house Merck's first BioReliance laboratory in the region, to provide pharmaceutical firms in Asia with quicker, more accessible testing services for biological drug products.

At its opening ceremony, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, said Merck's investment in Singapore is timely as global and regional healthcare demands continue to grow.

"Pharmaceutical companies seeking new opportunities can leverage Singapore's strengths to grow their businesses in the region and for regional consumers," he said.

The Government has invested in infrastructure, technology and talent to help propel the industry's growth and will continue to do so, said Dr Koh.

Examples include the professional conversion programme for the pharmaceutical and biologics industry, which has benefited over 350 people since its launch in 2014, he added.

A Merck spokesman said the new lab offers consumers "the assurance of more speedily available and validated next-generation drugs for treatment".

He added: "Time taken to validate critical processes, test and release a drug to market will be significantly reduced."

Previously, Asia-based customers had to work with Merck's two other BioReliance labs, in the US and Britain.

The Singapore lab allows for a faster turnaround.

Dr Koh said the biomedical sciences industry is an integral part of the economy, comprising almost 4 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product. - THE STRAITS TIMES

BUSINESS & FINANCE