On 20 April 2022, Sanofi launched Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF) in Singapore. A first-of-its-kind, the EVF is a fully digitalised, modular vaccine manufacturing facility, with the ability to produce vaccines on a large scale for Asia.

The launch was graced by the presence of Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat, and Sanofi’s Executive Vice President, Head of Vaccines, Thomas Triomphe. 

Sanofi is investing $973 million over five years to create two new EVFs globally – one in Singapore and one in France. These EVFs will pave the way for future vaccine innovation across the world. These “factories of the future” are designed to enable more agile and flexible manufacturing of multiple vaccines and biological platforms, including mRNA, enzymes and monoclonal antibodies. 

Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board, Dr Beh Swan Gin said “Sanofi’s decision to locate one of its two EVFs in Singapore will strengthen our biopharmaceutical industry and more broadly, our manufacturing sector. Critically, the EVF in Singapore will also play a key role in ensuring future pandemic preparedness in Singapore and the region.”

Adaptable to current and future public health needs, Singapore’s EVF is designed around a central unit that is comprised of several fully digitised modules, which can produce up to four vaccines simultaneously, regardless of the vaccine technology used (protein, mRNA etc.). The EVF will also be able to quickly “switch” its configuration towards one vaccine process to boost supply levels and adapt quickly to evolving public health emergencies, such as during a pandemic. This helps to strengthen production capacity to meet ever-growing regional and global demands for vaccines and ultimately ensures faster access to the most innovative vaccines and treatments.

Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice-President, Head of Vaccines at Sanofi further described, “We are embarking on a technological and industrial transformation with the EVF in Singapore, which will be the first facility of its kind in Asia”.

This new bioproduction facility will drastically reduce both resource consumption and waste production with the use of solar panels and green electricity purchase, minimising the environmental impact of the facility.

Singapore’s EVF is set for completion by the end of 2025 and represents an opportunity to develop the much-needed skills in ensuring healthcare sustainability in the region, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, process innovation. As announced in 2021, the EVF is expected to create up to 200 local jobs.