Feature Articles
Singapore's Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Sector
11 August 2008
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Pharmaceutical production has emerged as a key pillar of the manufacturing sector…
Pharmaceutical manufacturing has emerged as a key component of Singapore's manufacturing sector in recent years. Since 2000, a range of pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Schering-Plough and Wyeth have opened facilities in Singapore. Many of them have been attracted here bcause of Singapore's strong physical and regulatory infrastructure, global connectivity and skilled manpower base.
As a result, pharmaceutical’s share manufacturing value-added in Singapore increased from 7.7 per cent in 2000 to 22 per cent in 2007. Jobs in pharmaceutical manufacturing are also high-paying ones. In2007, workers in pharmaceutical manufacturing saw average wages of almost $70,000 This was higher than the average wages in the electronics cluster and in the overall manufacturing sector.