Singapore site sets Sanofi’s vaccine spend at beyond $2bn

After investing heavily to develop sites in France and Canada, Sanofi will now spend €400 million to establish a vaccine production center in Singapore.

The €400 million ($476 million) investment over five years will see Sanofi develop a modular and flexible vaccine manufacturing site in Singapore to supply the Asian market.

The site, once operational (estimated in the first quarter 2026) will be capable of running multiple types of vaccine manufacturing platforms and will be able to produce several different vaccines at the same time.

Image: iStock/Davizro

“By investing in a new production site in Singapore, Sanofi is aiming to strengthen production capacity to meet ever-growing global demands on vaccines, and answer more rapidly to future pandemics,” said Thomas Triomphe, EVP and global head of Sanofi Pasteur.

The investment is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board and is expected to create up to 200 jobs locally.

The news is the latest investment by Sanofi in the vaccine space. Since last June, the firm has spent over €1.7 billion ($2 billion) to grow its vaccine network.

Just two weeks ago, the firm announced a €700 million facility in Toronto, Canada to support production of its high-dose (HD) quadrivalent flu vaccine Fluzone. Meanwhile, construction is under way at two sites near Lyon, France dedicated to developing and manufacturing vaccines to respond to future epidemics. Additional capabilities are also being added at the firm’s Swiftwater, Pennsylvania site.

These investments fall under a strategy laid out by Sanofi that highlighted vaccines as a key growth driver, expected to deliver mid-to-high single-digit net sales CAGR from 2018 to 2025. For 2020, the firm reported growth of 9% in the division.

Specifically, influenza vaccine sales grew 25% year-on-year, while its Polio Pertussis Hib combination vaccine saw a 20% jump. Travel and booster vaccines dropped in 2020 by 16% due to COVID-19, but this is expected to recover once the pandemic subsides.