* Pharmaceuticals manufacturing to be "robust" in 2018 - EDB
* Recovery seen from biggest annual contraction since 1993
* Firms eye automation, new technology to boost productivity(Adds February pharmaceuticals output data in paragraph 10)
By Masayuki Kitano and John Geddie
A recovery from dismal 2017, which marked the sector's worstcontraction in two decades, would underpin
The sector will see a "robust" 2018,
"The opening of new sites like AbbVie's biologicsmanufacturing facility and the ramp up of others including Amgenand Novartis reflect strong fundamentals ...we expect the manufacturing activity to remain robust for 2018,"said Ho Weng Si, director of biomedical sciences for EDB.
"Outlook for the industry as a whole remains positive forthe next few years," Ho added, citing the pace of new drugapprovals by the
Sanofi, which in
A quarterly EDB survey of the manufacturing sector shows thepharmaceuticals industry is the most optimistic about productionover January-March, with a net weighted balance of 56 percent offirms expecting output to rise from the preceding three months.
EDB's Ho and the survey did not provide a specific forecast.
Data shows pharmaceutical production dropped in January,albeit at a milder pace, and rose 15.2 percent from a year agoin February, bringing gains so far this year to about 7 percent.
Output shrank 15.6 percent in 2017, the largest annualcontraction since at least 1993.
ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY, AUTOMATION
The outlook for recovery, however, is not free of headwinds.
Output in pharmaceuticals is inherently volatile becauseproduction happens in batches, which can take anywhere from afew days to weeks to make.
But thanks to advancements in technology, industry playersare hoping to achieve more consistent production levels.
GSK, which has been manufacturing in
Last year, for the first time products were commerciallymade using this technology.
"The pharma industry has to progress on the technology front... to ensure we increase productivity," said Lim Hock Heng, asite director in
Mundipharma hopes to start commercial production ofantiseptics at its new plant in
(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano and John Geddie; Editing by JackKim and Himani Sarkar)