Alcon has planned to build a manufacturing facility in Singapore for the production of pharmaceuticals and their distribution across major parts of Asia. The company will lease a 20-acre plot of land for building a 250,000 square feet facility.
The facility will be located in the Tuas Biomedical Park, Singapore, which is home to a cluster of pharmaceutical and biomedical plants.
While the exact amount has not yet been disclosed, total cost has been estimated to be around US$ 100 million
Alcon plans to break the ground for the plant in 2009 and make it fully operational in 2012. It will employ more than 150 employees within three years after commencing the production. Alcon's sale of pharmaceutical products for the eye has risen by a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent in Asia. This has stimulated Alcon's plants to come up with the plant in Singapore, the hub of Asian pharmaceutical industry. Through this plant, Alcon will be able to more efficiently and cost-effectively distribute pharmaceuticals across the high-growth countries of Asia. Singapore served as the most suited location due to its highly skilled and reliable workforce and well-established government infrastructure. Alcon expects to manufacture at the rate of more than 53 million units by at the facility by the third year of operation. Leading products of Alcon will be manufactured including Travatan and Azopt for glaucoma, Patanol for eye allergies, TobraDex and Vigamox for eye infections and Syatane for dry eye symptoms.
