Singapore gets Big Pharma rush to invest in plants for aging region

SINGAPORE -- Large investments from some of the world's biggest drugmakers are pouring into Singapore as companies seek to expand production in the city-state and access broader Asia, one of the fastest-growing markets with a rapidly aging population.

Last month, the U.S. drug giant Pfizer opened a 1 billion Singapore dollar ($740 million) facility to produce key ingredients for oncology medicines and others. In May, AstraZeneca pledged $1.5 billion to build its first Singapore site producing targeted chemotherapy drugs.