MADISON, N.J. and TUAS, Singapore, April 7, 2008 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) announced today it will invest $96 million (SGD $134 million) to expand its existing nutritional manufacturing facility in Tuas, Singapore.
The expansion was officially announced during a groundbreaking ceremony at the site attended by Company officials and representatives from the Singapore Economic Development Board, which is partnering with Wyeth to support the successful completion of the project.
"This investment reflects Wyeth's 90-year heritage of scientific innovation and commitment to pediatric nutrition," says Mark Larsen, President, Asia Pacific and Nutritionals, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. "A key element of our Company's mission is ensuring that infants and children have access to the best and highest-quality products. This site will help us to continue to achieve that objective."
The state-of-the-art facility, utilizing the strictest operational and quality standards, will produce key brands of Wyeth nutritional products for infants and toddlers, including formula and milk products sold as Progress and Promise. The expansion will increase the plant's capacity by 50 percent, enabling the facility to increase its supply to the Singapore market, as well as manufacturing additional product for export to other key markets throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Expansion at the Tuas site is the final phase of a $500 million capital improvement project in the Asia Pacific region, which includes previously announced investments to Wyeth's global nutritional manufacturing and supply operations in China and the Philippines.
Ms. Aw Kah Peng, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board, said the Government was pleased with the announcement of yet another significant investment in Singapore.
"The Economic Development Board is committed to ensuring the ongoing success of Singapore by maintaining a pro-business environment that facilitates multi-national companies' global expansion. This multi-million dollar capital intensive project provides further testament of Singapore's strategic position as key partner to leverage opportunities in expanding Asian market. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with Wyeth."
About Wyeth Nutritionals Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Wyeth Nutritionals Singapore Pte. Ltd. currently operates a nutritional manufacturing plant in Tuas. The facility is used for the manufacture and packaging of infant formula and toddler nutritional powders. These powders are distributed to Wyeth markets in the Asia Pacific region.
About Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women's health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.
Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products, including with respect to our pipeline products; government cost-containment initiatives; restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products; data generated on our products; the importance of strong performance from our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities; uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others; difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to, manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic relationships; economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; trade buying patterns; the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance; risks and uncertainties associated with global operations and sales; and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the caption "Item 1A, RISK FACTORS." The forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
