Sanofi opens AI-powered $595m facility in Singapore

Announced in 2021, the facility, named Modulus, is expected to be fully operational by 2026 and will create about 200 jobs locally. Modulus is Sanofi’s first "EVolutive vaccine facility (EVF)" outside of its home country France. 

According to the firm, EVFs are fully digital production modules within the central unit producing up to four vaccines simultaneously. These units are also capable of manufacturing different enzymes and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Announced in 2020, Sanofi’s first EVF, inaugurated in September 2024, is in Neuville-sur-Saône, north of Lyon in France. 

“Modulus is a fully AI-powered site with technology capable of switching gears to produce up to four different vaccines or biologic drugs at the same time,” a spokesperson for Sanofi told BioProcess Insider. 

“Our Modulus building in Singapore, like in France, is capable of housing the equivalent of 34 standardized production modules, each equipped with interconnected and modular equipment to configure production lines rapidly according to the specific needs of the moment. Modulus is thus a flexible and adaptable facility, enabling accelerated delivery of breakthrough medicines and vaccines.” 

As reported by CNBC, Modulus can switch between making difference vaccines within days and is a part of Sanofi’s €935 million ($1 billion) investment plan from 2022 to 2026. The Modulus facilities aim to shorten production timelines and enable rapid changes in production capacities across medicines, the firm said. 

“The Singapore site, much like its French sibling, prioritizes sustainability. It was designed to leverage renewable electricity and generate the lowest possible carbon footprint, all part of our commitment towards net zero by 2045,” the spokesperson added. 

“Both Modulus sites are entirely designed by Sanofi’s manufacturing and supply teams and are on track to be fully operational by mid 2026 to rapidly develop and produce life-saving therapies and bolster pandemic preparedness.” 

Sanofi's strategy of expansion and scalability goes beyond vaccines. In August 2024, the firm scaled up its insulin business to ‘look beyond GLP-1s’ with an investment of $1.4 billion at its site in Frankfurt, Germany. The BioCampus, Höchst plant will house a 36,000 square-meter facility, and is expected to open by 2029. 

Additionally, the firm pledged over $1billion to expand production facilities in France in May 2024. Announced during the Choose France Summit held in Paris, Sanofi is building a $1.1 billion mAb production facility in Vitry-sur-Seine, while investing $110 million to bolster capacity at its Le Trait site in Normandy and $11 million at Lyon Gerland. 

In April 2024, Sanofi opened a fill/finish plant in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, US. The firm’s vaccine division won a contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority (BARDA) providing $226 million to support pandemic influenza vaccine production.