German firm BioNTech has announced plans to expand its global footprint to Asia with the establishment of its Regional Headquarters for South East Asia in Singapore. In addition to selecting Singapore as its future regional headquarters, BioNTech plans to establish a fully integrated mRNA manufacturing facility in Singapore with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The new facility will provide regional and global supply capacity of BioNTech’s growing pipeline of mRNA-based product candidates, as well as a rapid response production capability for South East Asia to address potential pandemic threats.

The new mRNA manufacturing facility will leverage cutting-edge manufacturing and digital infrastructure. It will be equipped to produce a range of novel mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases and cancer. The envisioned site will bring highly automated and end-to-end mRNA production capabilities across drug substance, drug product and fill-and-finish, with an estimated annual capacity of several hundred of million doses of mRNA-based vaccines depending on the specific vaccine.

BioNTech plans to open its Singapore office and initiate construction of the manufacturing facility in 2021, subject to planning approval. The Company anticipates that the site could be operational as early as 2023 and will create up to 80 jobs in Singapore.

“Having multiple nodes in our production network is an important strategic step in building out our global footprint and capabilities. With this planned mRNA production facility, we will increase our overall network capacity and expand our ability to manufacture and deliver our mRNA vaccines and therapies to people around the world,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech.

“We strongly welcome BioNTech’s plan to establish its mRNA manufacturing facility and regional headquarters in Singapore. The investment will enable Singapore to develop capabilities in an important new therapeutic modality as part of the strategy to grow our biopharmaceutical industry,” said Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman, EDB.