Major UK drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has opened new facilities at its site in Jurong, Singapore. The company has invested 130 million Singapore dollars to add two continuous manufacturing facilities and expand one of the production buildings, enabling it to accelerate the supply of new “breakthrough” drugs to patients around the world.

One of the new continuous manufacturing facilities is part of Jurong’s R&D Pilot Plant and, said GSK, will strengthen the site’s capability in drug manufacture by speeding up production of APIs for clinical trial. The first new drug to be developed will be Daprodustat, an oral treatment for anemia associated with chronic kidney disease.

GSK said the expansion of the building that makes APIs for HIV medicines will boost its ability to make Dolutegravir, one of the company’s key assets. The investment has enabled the renewal of critical infrastructure, allowing GSK to test and develop digital technologies in the manufacturing process to drive improvements in productivity.

Lim Hock Heng, GSK’s vice president & site director for the pharmaceuticals supply chain Singapore, said advanced manufacturing systems are “pivotal” for GSK to stay at the forefront of pharma manufacturing.

The investment is part of the GSK-Economic Development Board (EDB) 10-year Singapore Manufacturing Roadmap that the parties formed in 2012. GSK said the joint initiative aims to guide investment decisions and developmental work to ensure manufacturing remains a competitive edge for both organizations.

“Over the years, GSK has continually partnered with Singapore to develop advanced manufacturing technologies, such as continuous manufacturing and digital manufacturing,” said EDB managing director Chng Kai Fong. “They have also been a strong partner in training our local talent. These efforts have supported the growth of the industry as a whole and, in turn, have created diverse and attractive job opportunities for Singapore.”

Continuous processing requires fewer manual interventions than traditional batch processes, enabling faster production at high quality. In addition, the flexible nature of continuous technology means that the volume of APIs produced can be adapted to meet demand.