Singapore Commits $8 Billion US To Expand Biomedical R&D Efforts

Chicao - The Singapore Government has committed a budget of close to US$8 billion for the five-year period from 2006 to 2010 to further strengthen research and development (R&D) capabilities in the country. This is almost double the Government's R&D budget for 2001 to 2005. The biomedical sciences (BMS) sector will continue to be one of the key areas of focus for the country.

Singapore has developed world-class capabilities across the entire value chain from drug discovery, product development and clinical research, to manufacturing and healthcare delivery. In a 2006 study conducted by KPMG, Singapore has the lowest cost structure among nine industrialized countries in North America, Europe and Asia for biomedical R&D and clinical trials, as well as pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturing.

BMS R&D set to expand
Singapore's vibrant and international research community, excellent science, strong intellectual property rights protection and pro-business regulatory infrastructure are key factors that attract multi-national companies to establish R&D operations in the country. In addition, Singapore has in place a clear and transparent regulatory framework to ensure that research conducted in the country is based on ethical and legal standards consistent with international practices. As a result, our biotechnology and pharmaceutical research landscape has grown significantly over the past five years. Currently, more than 20 companies have established drug discovery operations in Singapore, and they include Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.

With the next phase of R&D funding, Singapore is poised to build on its position as a leading global biomedical hub of Asia. It will support research in areas such as stem cells, infectious diseases and diagnostics. Singapore already hosts a broad base of stem cell research activities. The Singapore Stem Cell Consortium (SSCC) was established to coordinate, fund and advance this. It will focus on basic research, translational and clinical R&D. SSCC will also establish key infrastructure and resources such as a national stem cell bank and a cGMP cell processing facility. Stem cell companies in Singapore such as CellResearch Corporation, Cygenics, ES Cell International and Viacell will benefit from this increased focus.

In the area of infectious diseases, the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) is one of several research centers in Singapore conducting research on diseases endemic to the region. NITD has started by focusing on dengue fever and tuberculosis. After two years of operations, NITD has discovered and is developing two compounds that appear to target multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. It has also broken new ground in terms of understanding the dengue fever mechanism through sequencing the genome of the virus.

The latest addition is CombinatoRx (CRx), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines from synergistic combinations of approved drugs. CRx will set up a joint venture with Singapore's Bio*One Capital to apply its combination high throughput screening technology to discover and develop novel candidates to treat infectious diseases.

In the area of self-diagnostics, two Singapore companies have made significant advances in developing highly-promising products. Rockeby biomed has launched four rapid diagnostic tests for the early detection of avian flu, HIV and vaginal thrush. Another company, Veredus Laboratories, is supplying a World Health Organization-endorsed diagnostic chip for detecting avian flu based on primers developed by the Genome Institute of Singapore, a research institute of the government's Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR).

"R&D is the foundation of the biotechnology industry. Singapore offers the right combination of scientific talent and world-class infrastructure to conduct cutting-edge research," said Dr. Swan-Gin Beh, Director of the Biomedical Sciences Group, Singapore Economic Development Board.

"The Government's new R&D budget further underlines our long-term commitment to invest the necessary resources to support research. Over the next five years, we will aim to strengthen our core scientific capabilities and translate research outputs into clinically-relevant and commercially-viable applications."

Manufacturing continues to grow from strength to strength
At the launch of Singapore's BMS initiative in mid-2000, the goal was to double the BMS industry's annual manufacturing output from US$3.7 billion then to US$7.4 billion by 2005. Last year, the biomedical manufacturing output reached US$11.4 billion, exceeding the target by 50%. Our aim is now to hit US$15 billion by 2015.

Seven leading pharmaceutical companies and many leading medical technology players have strategic manufacturing operations in Singapore. In the first quarter of 2006, the following new investments were announced:

• Lonza, a leading custom manufacturer of chemical intermediates, active ingredients and biopharmaceuticals for the pharmaceutical industry, will set up a commercial scale mammalian cell culture plant to manufacture biopharmaceuticals.
• Edward Lifesciences, a leader in advanced cardiovascular disease treatments, is setting up a new tissue heart valves manufacturing facility.
• MDS Sciex, an analytical instrumentation company, opened a new manufacturing facility to manufacture its new cellular analysis product. The 30,000 square feet facility will accommodate over 100 employees when it is fully operational. Construction of the 98,000 square feet facility has commenced. The company is expected to employ up to 500 people when it is fully operational.
• SGS, the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, opened its new laboratory dedicated to quality control testing of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices.
• Waters, a global leader in analytical instrumentation technologies, significantly expanded its presence in Singapore by inaugurating a new purpose-built facility that will manufacture its flagship high performance liquid chromatography system.

SOURCE: Ruder Finn