Singapore’s vision is to be the Biopolis of Asia, an international biomedical sciences (BMS) cluster advancing human health. Singapore has built up world-class capabilities across the entire value chain from drug discovery, development and clinical research, to manufacturing and health care delivery. The BMS industry comprises Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Technology, Biotechnology and Healthcare Services.
The three agencies that spearhead Singapore’s BMS initiative are the Biomedical Sciences Group (BMSG) of the Economic Development Board, Bio*One Capital and the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) of the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR).
The BMS industry did exceptionally well in 2006. The manufacturing output grew strongly to S$23 billion in 2006, an unprecedented 30% increase over 2005. Within a short span of six years, the manufacturing output has grown almost fourfold from the year 2000. Pharmaceuticals accounts for 91% of the total output while Medical Technology maintained its output levels at over S$2 billion. Employment expanded by 3.9% to reach 10,571. Of the total jobs in the BMS manufacturing sector, 62% are in the Medical Technology sector.
Since it was launched in October 2003, the take-up rate for the Biopolis, Singapore's two million square feet purpose-built biomedical sciences research complex, has exceeded expectations. It is now fully occupied. As a result, construction of Phase II of the Biopolis, with two additional buildings, was brought forward and the 400,000 square feet of space was opened in October 2006. There are over 40 companies and organizations at the Biopolis, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Centre for Research in Cognitive & Neurodegenerative Disorders, Invitrogen, Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, Paradigm Therapeutics, Waseda-Olympus Bioscience Research and ES Cell International. Also located at the Biopolis are 7 public sector research institutes.
One of the key challenges faced by start-ups and established companies is the need to manage R&D costs and bring products to the market as quickly as possible. At the Biopolis, companies can take advantage of shared state-of-the-art facilities, scientific infrastructure and specialized services. These allow companies to reduce R&D costs significantly and accelerate the development timeline. The shared scientific equipment includes X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron microscopy, 9.4T MRI machine, DNA sequencing, a research facility with specific pathogen free research animals and other facilities. Companies can also leverage on shared infrastructure such as conference facilities and meeting rooms.
In parallel, the Tuas Biomedical Park (TBP) had been developed as a 'plug and play' environment for manufacturing operations, providing ready access to essential infrastructure such as roads, drainage systems, power and water supply, as well as telecommunication lines. Manufacturers can also leverage on third-party utilities and services such as steam, natural gas, chilled water and waste treatment. TBP currently occupies a land area of over 360 hectares and is home to the following leading biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies: Abbott, CIBA Vision, GSK Biologicals, Lonza, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer and Wyeth.
Recently, Tuas Power, in partnership with Pfizer, broke ground for its new, state-of-the-art trigeneration facility, the first in Singapore to use this technology. Trigeneration, which produces three types of utilities – electricity, steam and chilled water from a single integrated system, leads to greater energy efficiency and cost savings.
In addition to basic R&D and manufacturing, an increasing number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are leveraging on Singapore for their clinical research needs. Singapore is the regional clinical trial coordination centre for many of these companies. In addition, companies also find Singapore an attractive location for early phase trials including first-in-man trials and proof-of-concept studies, which are scientifically demanding and involve a relatively small number of patients. Singapore’s strengths in medical research and basic sciences are critical considerations for such activities.
Leading global pharmaceutical players which have set up their regional clinical trial coordination and management centers in Singapore include AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli-Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, NovoNordisk, Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis. Pfizer and Eli Lilly also have dedicated early phase clinical trial units in Singapore. To support the outsourcing trend in the pharmaceutical industry, Contract Research Organizations (CROs) with established operations in Singapore include industry leaders such as Covance, Quintiles, ICON, MDS Pharma Services and PPD Development.
Bio*One Capital manages S$1.2 billion in funds to invest in overseas or local projects with economic spin-offs to Singapore. It offers a strong combination of financial, business, scientific and investment know-how to enhance the value of companies. Bio*One also oversees the Innovate ‘N’ Create Scheme to provide seed capital for home grown biomedical sciences start-ups. To date, Bio*One has invested in over 60 portfolio companies. In addition, companies can look to Singapore to raise equity financing through private sector venture capital (VC) or listing in the public market. Approximately S$19 billion of VC funds are managed out of Singapore.
Our strong foundation in BMS research is provided by the seven BMRC research institutes: Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences and Institute of Medical Biology.
In addition to funding its own institutes and research programs, BMRC also provides extramural grants to support research in universities, hospitals and disease centers in Singapore. Grants awarded by BMRC are competitive and peer reviewed internationally and locally. In addition, BMRC continues to support thematic grants in the Singapore research community through its consortial initiatives.
The overall total expenditure on BMS research in Singapore grew from S$310.7 million in 2001 to S$888.88 million in 2005 with the growth rate of private sector BMS R&D spending outpacing that of the public sector. In 2001, private sector expenditure on biomedical research accounted for 28.5% of total expenditure. By 2005, this had increased to 35%.
Commercialization
To accelerate the transfer of impactful research findings from the public sector research institutes to industry, A*STAR’s commercialization arm, Exploit Technologies, handles the management and commercialization of Intellectual Property. Exploit Technologies is a one-stop shop for companies interested to tap on the rich resource of technologies from A*STAR’s research institutes.
Infrastructure alone is not sufficient to ensure the success of Singapore’s BMS initiative. A significant amount of resources and efforts have been focused on talent attraction and development. Singapore adopts a pro-global and pro-local approach. A robust ethical framework and strict laws for the protection of intellectual property rights, coupled with a dynamic research environment and quality of life, are some of the key reasons that attract a growing number of scientists to Singapore.Over the past five years, Singapore has attracted an impressive list of internationally prominent scientists to lead the nation’s BMS R&D efforts. [Please see box].
Name |
From |
Designation in Singapore |
Other info |
Alan Colman (Dr) |
UK-based PPL Therapeutics, a spin-off from the Roslin Institute |
Chief Executive Officer, ES Cell International |
Well known for his work with the Roslin Institute to clone Dolly the sheep |
Alex Matter (Dr) |
Director, Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases |
Led the development of Novartis' cancer therapeutic blockbuster drug, Gleevec |
|
Axel Ullrich (Dr) |
Oversees the molecular biology department at Max Planck Institute, Germany |
Director, Singapore OncoGenome Project |
Founder of numerous biotech companies including Sugen and U3 |
David Lane (Dr Sir) |
University of Dundee, UK |
Executive Director, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology |
One of the scientists credited with the landmark discovery of the cancer gene p53. Founder of Scottish biotech company, Cyclacel |
Edison Liu (Dr) |
National Cancer Institute, US |
Executive Director, Genome Institute of Singapore |
Internationally recognized expert in breast cancer research |
Edward Holmes (Dr) |
University of California San Diego (UCSD), US |
Executive Deputy Chairman, Clinical-Translational Sciences at A*STAR's Biomedical Research Council |
A major thought leader in translational research and academic medicine |
Jackie Ying (Dr) |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US |
Executive Director, Institute of Bioengineering & Nanotechnology |
|
Jean Paul Thiery (Dr) |
Institut Curie, France |
Principal Investigator, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology |
An expert on cell adhesion and migration studies |
Judith Swain (Dr) |
University of California San Diego (UCSD), US |
Executive Director, Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences (SICS) |
Known for her work in creating models to understand the genetic basis of cardiovascular development and disease |
Neal Copeland & Nancy Jenkins (Drs) |
National Cancer Institute, US |
Principal Investigators, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology |
Renowned cancer geneticists who are among the world's most frequently-cited scientists |
Philip Ingham (Dr) |
University of Sheffield, UK |
Principal Investigator, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology |
An authority on developmental genetics and cell-to-cell communication |
Philippe Kourilsky (Dr) |
College de France, France |
Chairman, Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) |
noted expert in molecular immunology and tumor immunity |
Sydney Brenner (Dr) |
Salk Institute of Biological Studies |
Chairman, Biomedical Research Council |
2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine. Established C. elegans as a novel experimental model organism. This provided a unique opportunity to link genetic analysis to cell division, differentiation and organ development – and to follow these processes under the microscope, which laid the foundation for this year’s Nobel Prize. |
Yoshiaki Ito (Dr) |
University of Kyoto, Japan |
Principal Investigator, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and the National University of Singapore |
An expert on RUNX genes, a major tumor suppressor associated with gastric cancer |
In parallel, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has been aggressively leading efforts to build up the local research talent pool in Singapore. A*STAR’s scholarship programs provide full support for students pursuing scientific training at prestigious universities internationally and locally.As of December 2006, 393 scholarships and fellowships had been awarded to candidates pursuing disciplines in BMS.
The first phase of the BMS initiative (2000-2005) put in place the foundation by building up core capabilities in biomedical research, and introducing important human capital and industrial capital development initiatives. For the next phase (2006-2010), we will build on this to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in translational medicine and clinical sciences to bring discoveries from the bench to the bedside. The target is for Singapore’s BMS sector to reach S$25 billion in manufacturing output and 15,000 jobs by 2015.
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is the lead agency that plans and executes strategies to develop Singapore as a compelling global hub for business and investment. It enables multinational and Singapore-based companies to establish value-creating operations in both the manufacturing and internationally tradeable services sectors.
The EDB Biomedical Sciences Group (EDB BMSG) is responsible for the development of the Biomedical Sciences industry. The BMS Group works closely with A*STAR’s Biomedical Research Council (BMRC), Bio*One Capital and other agencies to develop human, intellectual, and industrial capital in Singapore, in support of the Biomedical Sciences industry. A*STAR’s BMRC is the national body that is responsible for developing the human capital to support, sustain and stimulate public sector biomedical research and development activities in Singapore while Bio*One Capital is a dedicated BMS investment management company.
Source: Singapore Economic Development Board
Singapore Economic Development Board
20 Biopolis Way, #09-01, Centros
Singapore 138668
Phone: +(65) 6395 7711
Fax: +(65) 6395 7798
Web site: www.biomed-singapore.com
Contact: Sheo S. Rai, Head, Communications