AstraZeneca (AZN.L) has revealed plans to build a $1.5 billion manufacturing plant in Singapore to produce cancer-killing drugs called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
The facility, which will be the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s first end-to-end ADC production site will be supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board.
ADCs are antibodies engineered to bind to tumour cells and then release cell-killing chemicals. The multistage production involves the generation of antibodies, synthesising the chemotherapy drug and its linker, conjugating these elements, and filling the completed ADC substance.
For now, details on getting possible financial incentives from the Singapore government are uncertain.
AstraZeneca has been expanding into markets like India, Indonesia and China over the past few years with the intent to widen its supply chain.
The company’s breast cancer therapy Enhertu is made by its partner Daiichi Sankyo (4568.T) in Japan.