MAYASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8AstraZeneca plans to build a $1.5 billion manufacturing facility in Singapore to produce antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and targeted cancer therapies, the British company announced on Monday (May 20). This facility will be AstraZeneca's first end-to-end ADC production site and will be supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). Specific details on potential financial incentives from the Singapore government were not disclosed."Singapore is one of the world's most attractive countries for investment given its reputation for excellence in complex manufacturing, and I am excited for AstraZeneca to locate our $1.5 billion ADC manufacturing facility in the country," said CEO Pascal Soriot in a statement.AstraZeneca, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has been expanding into markets like China, Indonesia, and India to diversify its supply chain. Its breast cancer therapy, Enhertu, is manufactured by its partner, Daiichi Sankyo, in Japan. ADCs are engineered antibodies that bind to tumor cells and release cell-killing chemicals, involving a complex, multi-stage production process that includes generating the antibody, synthesizing the chemotherapy drug and its linker, conjugating these elements, and filling the completed ADC substance. NEWSROOMASTRA ZENECA TO BUILD ANTI-BODY DRUG FACILITY IN SINGAPORESouth Korea and Britain are hosting a major international summit on artificial intelligence in Seoul this week, with a focus on AI safety. The AI Seoul Summit, which begins on Tuesday (May 21), follows the inaugural global AI safety summit held at Bletchley Park in Britain last year. That event saw numerous countries expressing their concerns to leading AI firms about the risks their technologies might pose.This year's summit will feature representatives from prominent AI companies, including OpenAI (the maker of ChatGPT), Google DeepMind, French AI firm Mistral, Microsoft, and Anthropic. Safety is a key theme at the summit, reflecting ongoing concerns about the potential misuse of AI.South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak highlighted these concerns in a joint article published on Monday in the South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo and Britain's i newspaper. They noted that, as with any new technology, AI introduces new risks, including the potential for deliberate misuse. "With new models being released almost every week, we are still learning where these risks may emerge," they wrote.The release of ChatGPT in 2022 marked a significant moment in the AI industry, sparking a wave of investment and development in generative AI. These models can create text, photos, audio, and video from simple prompts and are seen by many as transformative tools that can enhance various aspects of life and business. SOUTH KOREA & BRITAIN TO JOINTLY HOST INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT ON AI
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