Singapore: Stelis Biopharma, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's Strides Arcolab, has begun the construction of its $60 mn biologics facility in Malaysia. The 140,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in the next two years, and will employ about 180 people when operating by mid-2017, the Business Standard reported.

The facility, built at Johor, will incorporate next-gen single-use bio-processing technology with both mammalian and microbial manufacturing suites, said Strides Acrolab in a statement.

Mr Joe Thomas, CEO, Stelis Biopharme, said, "With its strong commitment to bio-economy, attractive incentives, quality infrastructure and enabling ecosystem, we are confident of making this our bio-manufacturing hub for regional and global markets."

Malaysia with its generous tax laws, incentives, is considered by drug makers as prime location to set up operations for Southeast Asia. Recently Strides completed the sale of its sterile injectables business Agila Specialties to Mylan ($MYL) for $1.75 billion last year.