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Singapore Biotechnology Boom Indicators
The Buzz
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Singapore’s Biotech industry Chan Yiu Lin Founder and Principal Consultant Greener Grass Communications
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s Singapore continues to build its biomedical sciences sector into the fourth pillar of its economy, there have been numerous developments in the biotechnology industry over the last several months. These developments includes strengthening Singapore’s research and development (R&D) capabilities, translating research into new applications, encouraging industry developments, attracting top-notch scientific talents and establishing strong international linkages. These are summarized below.
Strengthening R&D Capabilities The research institutes under the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC), continue to build upon their basic science capabilities and make significant research achievements in strategic areas, such as cancer, infectious diseases, genomics and medical devices. In addition, BMRC announced the results of its fourth grant call, where some 50 grants, amounting to S$29.2 million (US$18.2 million) in funding, were awarded to the wider scientific community of universities, hospitals and disease centers in Singapore. The results from the latest R&D survey show that R&D in Singapore continues to grow strongly. In 2004, the gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) increased to S$4 062 million (US$2 540 million), led by the private sector, at 63.8% share. This brings the GERD to 2.25% of Singapore’s GDP, which is on par with other advanced economies, including Belgium (2.42% in 2004), Taiwan (2.3% in 2002) and Switzerland (2.57% in 2000). The other factors demonstrating the progress of Singapore’s R&D scene were an increase in number of researchers employed and a growth in the level of patenting activities.
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“Research and innovation will be key drivers to transform the Singapore economy in the next 10–20 years. Singapore has developed strong foundations in both the R&D industry and public sector research,” said Mr Boon Swan Foo, managing director of Agency of Science Technology & Research (A*STAR), which released the 2004 R&D survey in October 2005. “Corporate R&D laboratories and top R&D talents have been drawn to Singapore by the government’s strong commitment to R&D and education, an attractive environment for R&D activities, and access to high quality, well-trained Singaporeans and foreign R&D talent.” This strong government support for R&D is demonstrated by the launch of the Science & Technology Plan 2010 (STP2010) in February 06. The STP2010 has committed S$7.5 billion (US$4.7 billion) over the next five years, to sustain innovation-driven growth through R&D, with the aim of increasing national spending in R&D to 3% of GDP by 2010. The STP2010 will drive four key programs: Strengthening and deepening research capabilities; developing research talents in Singapore; promoting private sector R&D; and providing infrastructure support. The first program, strengthening and deepening research capabilities, is already well underway, with the opening of several research laboratories, over the last few months. In November 2005, the Chemical Synthesis Laboratory (CSL) was officially launched at the Biopolis and will provide a focal point to expand Singapore’s chemicals capabilities and capacity to support the diverse chemical companies in their R&D work there. It will also help train the next generation of highly skilled PhD researchers to address the R&D manpower needs of the specialty chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. More recently, three new laboratories were opened in April 2006, to expand capabilities in bioimaging and stem cell research. Under the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), the Laboratory of Molecular Imaging will house bioimaging facilities, such as magnetic resonance imaging, optical and other imaging modalities, while the Laboratory of Metabolic Medicine will focus on research in diabetes, brain disorders and image-analysis. Under the Singapore Stem Cell Consortium (SSCC), the Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology will look at characterizing stem cells and will work together with the Stem Cell Bank to create a central pool of well-characterized stem cells for use by Singapore’s research community.
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During the opening of these three laboratories, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State for Health and Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, commented, “It is hoped that the two consortia will catalyse the synergy amongst physical scientists, biologists, physicists, computer scientists, bioengineers and clinicians. By investing our resources in these areas of translational research, we hope that the work of SBIC and SSCC will lead to new clinical opportunities and improvements in diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Ultimately, this will lead to improvements in the health of Singaporeans.”
Translating R&D into New Applications Not only will these labs build up key research capabilities, they will also help to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical applications. This is a key strategy in Singapore’s efforts in boosting translational medicine, which transforms laboratory discoveries into better ways to diagnose and treat patients. Translational medicine builds upon Singapore’s strong R&D foundations, leading to new medical applications. This will improve patient outcomes, improve the healthcare system and help to save lives. In October 2005, the BMS International Advisory Panel endorsed four new translational initiatives. The Singapore Stem Cell Consortium will advance stem cell therapies by coordinating and funding both basic and clinic stem cell research in Singapore. It will also establish key infrastructure support, develop talents and establish partnership programs. The Singapore Immunology Network will build up Singapore’s immunological expertise and develop international linkages with leading institutions. The Singapore Consortium of Cohort Studies facilitates research in the complex geneenvironment interactions in diseases, aiming to influence lifestyle changes, improve clinical outcomes and enhance human healthcare. Lastly, A*STAR’s Data Privacy Framework protects the privacy and confidentiality of subjects and patients involved in projects, ensuring that research is carried out in an ethical manner. Realizing the that good translational medicine requires a new breed of researchers that have both research and clinical experience, in January 2006, the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) and the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) supported the second batch of doctors under the Clinician-Scientist Investigator (CSI) Award. This award encourages translational medicine by supporting the career development of clinician scientists, who are undertaking research in areas as diverse as neurology, orthopaedic surgery, stem cell biology, cancer biology and genetic study on human obesity.
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“I am very excited at the opportunities that this award will provide. I will get to work closely with basic scientists. I can focus my effort on stem cell research and its use in repairing cartilage and meniscus and hopefully find the solution for patients who suffer from debilitating knee pain,” said Associate Professor Hui Hoi Po, James, one of the senior clinician scientists receiving the CSI award.
Attracting Scientific Talents In addition to building up capabilities amongst its local manpower pool, Singapore has been successful in attracting top calibre scientists. In early 2006, Drs Neal Copeland and Nancy Jenkins, joined the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB). Prior to IMCB, they were both world-renowned cancer geneticists at the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the husband-and-wife team are amongst the world’s most highly cited scientists. In April 2006, four eminent scientists were appointed in key positions within Singapore’s biomedical sciences industry. Professor Birgitte Lane has taken over the helm of the Centre for Molecular Medicine (CMM), which focuses on Epithelial Biology, Genetic Medicine, Virology, Regenerative Medicine and the Singapore OncoGenome Project. Professor Philippe Kourilsky has been appointed as the chairman of the Singapore Immunology Network, where his leadership will be critical in shaping the establishment of its research programs and infrastructure, as well as establishing immunology as a core capability in Singapore’s biomedical science research. He is a noted expert in molecular immunology and tumour immunity, and also holds the chair of Molecular Immunology at the College de France. Professor Edward Holmes will be appointed as the executive deputy chairman for “Clinical-Translational Sciences” at the Biomedical Research Council. He is currently the vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean, School of Medicine, at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Professor Judith Swain will be the founding executive director of the proposed “Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS)”, which will focus on clinical and translational research, bridging basic biomedical research and healthcare for patients. “I am excited to join my colleagues in Singapore in building a world-class research program in clinical and translational medicine,” said Professor Swain. “By taking advantage of the strengths in biomedical research in Singapore, the excellent base of clinical investigators and the robust and varied patient population served by the hospitals under the Ministry of Health, Singapore can become a leading hub for clinical sciences and the development of new therapies.”
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Industry Developments In addition to scientific talents making Singapore their home, a number of international companies have also chosen to establish their base here, helping to build up strong industry capabilities. In January 2006, CombinatoRx Singapore was set up. It will leverage upon the high throughput screening technology of CombinatoRx Incorporated, to discover and potentially develop novel product candidates to treat infectious diseases, with an initial focus on hepatitis C and hepatitis B. It will also help to position Singapore as a source of innovative new therapeutics to address the large infectious disease market. “The formation of CombinatoRx Singapore is designed to address a significant global health need by advancing the development of novel therapeutics for infectious disease, while also acting as a gateway for CombinatoRx to the Asian scientific and business communities,” said Mr Alexis Borisy, president and CEO of CombinatoRx. “We chose Singapore because of the availability of world class scientific and clinical talents in infectious diseases, developed intellectual property and regulatory infrastructure and most importantly, the Singapore government’s commitment to the biomedical sciences industry.” In February 2006, Bio*One Capital and the Lonza Group announced that they are jointly building a large-scale mammalian cell culture plant in Singapore for the manufacture of commercial biopharmaceuticals, totalling an investment of US$250 million. This project will support efforts to expand the biomedical sciences industry here, through attracting more biopharmaceuticals manufacturing activities. As Singapore becomes a major production hub for pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, companies like SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, are attracted here. In March 2006, SGS opened its new Singapore QC laboratory, dedicated to quality control testing of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. This will develop Singapore’s strong base of services providers that support biomedical manufacturers. Local companies have also been making significant developments. Home-grown start-up, Veredus Laboratories launched one of the world’s first commercially available avian influenza diagnostic kits, which uses proprietary nucleic acid diagnostic primers developed by the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS). Veredus Laboratories then went on to partner STMicroelectronics to develop a rapid-detection, point-of-need, lab-on-chip to diagnose avian flu within approximately one hour of testing. Over the last few months, MerLion Pharmaceuticals, a Singaporebased drug discovery company has established international research collaborations with companies and organizations, including the US National Cancer Institute, Astellas Pharma and the Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases.
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International Linkages As world-leading companies continue to set up operations here, and more global partnerships are established with Singapore-based companies, the nation’s international linkages will strengthen. Realizing that science cannot occur in isolation, Singapore is proactively building up its global linkages. In October 2005, A*STAR and the Karolinska Institutet, one of Europe’s largest medical universities, agreed to offer joint PhD training in the biomedical sciences. A few months later, A*STAR made a similar agreement with the University of Dundee, one of Europe’s leading universities in biomedical sciences. In addition to partnering with these world-class universities, these collaborations will open new opportunities for research collaborations between Singapore and Sweden and Scotland. In November 2005, BioSingapore and AusBiotech, life science industry associations in Singapore and Australia respectively, agreed to promote collaborations between their members. This includes industry development and personal interactions amongst companies and organizations. Another long term collaboration was also formed between A*STAR, the National University of Singapore and the University of California, San Diego. Under this biomedical sciences research collaboration, six projects will be initiated in the areas of host-pathogen interactions, cancer, stem cell biology and developmental biology.
Looking Ahead Contact Details
Chan Yiu Lin Founder and Principal Consultant of Greener Grass Communications (GGC) Tel: +65 6777 9363 Fax: +65 6777 9363 Email:
[email protected] URL: www.greenergrass.com.sg
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Singapore has been forging ahead, establishing more of such linkages with other international biotech hotspots. Singapore’s Biopolis was recently identified by FierceBiotech, an international email newsletter for the biotech industry, as the fourth region that is bestpositioned to become a hotbed of biotech innovation. Furthermore, the expansion of the Biopolis, which should be completed by end 2006, has already confirmed Singapore’s growing role as a global biomedical sciences hub. Looking ahead, Singapore will continue to build upon its strong foundations in the biomedical sciences area, strengthening its capabilities in translational and clinical research, with the objective of improving human healthcare.
