PARIS, April 12 — French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday it would invest €400 million (RM1.97 billion) over five years in a new vaccine production site in Singapore.

The new site would provide Sanofi with the ability to produce innovative vaccines on a massive scale for Asia and respond to future pandemic risks, the company said in a statement.

The project is expected to create up to 200 local jobs, it added.

Sanofi said it expected to start the construction of the site in the third quarter of 2021 and be fully operational in the first quarter of 2026.

"The Singapore site will complement Sanofi’s existing manufacturing capacities in Europe and North America and will become a regional center of excellence for vaccines production in Asia”, the company said. — Reuters