GSK investing $60m in greener manufacturing at Singapore amoxicillin plant

By Dan Stanton

- Last updated on GMT

The Quality Road, Singapore site is GSK's sole manufacturing site for amoxicillin, the API used in the antibiotic treatment Augmentin
The Quality Road, Singapore site is GSK's sole manufacturing site for amoxicillin, the API used in the antibiotic treatment Augmentin

Related tags Glaxosmithkline

GSK is investing £38m ($60m) in enzymatic manufacturing at an antibiotic facility in Singapore which the firm says is greener and more efficient than traditional approaches.

The Quality Road, Singapore facility is GlaxoSmithKline’s sole manufacturing site for amoxicillin, the API used in the antibiotic treatment Augmentin, and the firm has announced it is looking to increase capacity through this latest investment.

According to spokesman Raymond Francis, the investment will be used to construct an additional downstream isolation facility at the site which will “increase production by 50% and help the company meet the growing demand for antibiotics in emerging markets.”

Enzymatic manufacturing

Following a $35m injection in 2012, this latest cash injection further boosts amoxicillin capabilities at the plant using enzymatic manufacturing, which the firm says is a greener alternative to traditional chemical processes.

“This aqueous process involves fewer steps under milder conditions, typically ambient temperatures and utilises significantly reduced quantities of organic solvents, resulting in the elimination of much of the organic waste associated with the chemical process,”​ Francis told in-Pharmatechnologist.com.

“Moving to this new manufacturing method should result in a significant reduction in our carbon footprint at the Quality Road site - by as much as 25% - and reduce organic waste by approximately 80% while maintaining our industry leading product quality standards.”

Quality Road is one of three GSK production sites in Singapore and the shift to enzymatic manufacturing is an example of the firm’s ongoing advances to improve the efficiency of manufacturing in the island-state, Francis said.

Last year, £19m was invested in GSK’s continuous manufacturing facility in Jurong which Francis said will produce key respiratory APIs.

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