Asia Tech Wire (May 23) -- Chinese drugmaker WuXi AppTec Co Ltd (2359.HK) on Thursday announced the groundbreaking for its R&D and manufacturing site in Singapore.

The company said in a statement that the new site will have seven R&D and manufacturing plants at full capacity, providing API development and production services for small molecules, oligonucleotides, peptides, and complex synthetic conjugates.

The Singapore site is due to be operational in 2027, and the overall construction will proceed in phases.

Upon full completion, the new site is expected to create 1,600 jobs, WuXi AppTec said.