Chugai expands in Singapore, opening second satellite research institute

Chugai Pharmabody Research (CPR), a unit of Swiss pharma major Roche (ROG: SIX) majority-owned Japanese drugmaker Chugai (TYO: 4519), recently held an opening ceremony in Singapore of a new research company, which it says has the potential to create innovative antibody drugs with the potential of making dramatic improvements in therapeutic effects using Chugai’s novel antibody engineering technologies.

“Our first research centre here, PharmaLogicals Research, was established in 2002 as a joint-venture and is making major progress in research that contributes to drug discovery. The opening of CPR represents our company’s fourth satellite research institute, following others in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore,” said Osamu Nagayama, chairman and chief executive of Chugai Pharmaceutical.

Mr Nagayama also said that the decision to set up CPR here was due to Singapore’s excellent position as an important hub for biomedical science, its scientific infrastructure and highly-skilled multinational talent.