By Cecilia Butini

Sanofi SA said Monday that it would invest in a vaccine production center in Singapore.

The French pharmaceutical major said it is planning to invest 400 million euros ($476.1 million) over five years, and that the new site will allow it to produce vaccines on a massive scale for Asia and to complement exisiting manufacturing capacity in Europe and North America.

The project is expected to create up to 200 local jobs, the company said.

Construction of the plant is expected to being in the third quarter of 2021, with the site becoming fully operational in the first quarter of 2026, Sanofi said.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-12-21 0139ET