BioSingapore whitepaper looking at the future of Biosciences in Singapore and the new opportunities ahead.

1. The Next Lap:
Biosciences in Singapore 2025
An EIU Healthcare white paper
for BioSingapore
October 2015

2. Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
ExecuDve summary
Looking back: Recap of bioscience sector development, 2000–2015
Regional cluster comparison: Singapore, Israel, Taiwan, South Korea
New growth centres: Expand access to emerging markets
Focus areas for investment: Maximize relevance and return
Accelerated commercialisaDon: Range of routes to market
Next-­‐generaDon talent: Commercial and convergence skills
Conclusion: The next ten years
About BioSingapore & Clearstate
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 2
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3. Foreword
Simranjit Singh
Execu1ve Council, BioSingapore
General Manager, Medical Devices Asia, Quin1les
2015 marks a milestone year for Singapore as the naDon
commemorates its 50th year of independence. It is also a
landmark year for BioSingapore, an associaDon for the
Biosciences industry in Singapore, as we celebrate our 10th
anniversary. In 2000, the Singapore government launched its
15-­‐year roadmap to develop and promote the biosciences
industry. This roadmap is now coming to its tail end and
therefore it is imperaDve for us to review and evaluate the
achievements & challenges encountered in the development
of the Biosciences industry in Singapore. It also provides an
opportunity for us to come together as an industry to help
shape policy to further drive success in the biosciences
industry for the next ten years.
This white paper has elicited views from a broad group of
industry parDcipants about the future of the Biosciences
industry in Singapore. It provides themes that can help to
guide the development of innovaDve ideas to propel the next
lap of Biosciences growth in Singapore. We thank all
parDcipants for their Dme and support for the white paper. We
hope this whitepaper will act as a catalyst for greater
engagement and dialogue and spur more companies &
individuals to be part of the BioSingapore community.
We would like thank Clearstate (EIU Healthcare) for their hard
work and effort in helping to conduct the interviews and
pu^ng together this white paper.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 3

4. Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all the industry parDcipants and influencers who parDcipated, whether on record or
anonymously, for their valuable insights.
Interviewees
Abel Ang, Chief OperaDng Officer at Accuron Technologies
Abhijit Ghosh, Partner, PharmaceuDcal Leader & Tax Market Counsel Member at PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore
Benjamin Seet, ExecuDve Director of the Biomedical Research Council at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Brian Henry, ExecuDve Director and Site Lead, Early Discovery Pharmacology and Exploratory Sciences at MSD TranslaDonal
Medicine Research Centre Singapore
Carl Firth, CEO of ASLAN PharmaceuDcals
Chua Ean Chin, Country Manager, Singapore at Roche DiagnosDcs Singapore
Colin Tan, Chief OperaDng Officer at Endomaster
David Dally, CEO at MerLion PharmaceuDcals
Elena Rizova, Vice President External InnovaDon Asia Pacific at Johnson & Johnson Singapore
Gideon Ho, ‎Co-­‐Founder & CEO at Histoindex
Jonathan Kua, Group Director, Industry Development Group at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research
‎Jozica Habijanic, Head of Strategic Development at Roche DiagnosDcs Asia-­‐Pacific
Julien de Salaberry, Chief InnovaDon Officer at The Propell Group
Kevin Lai, ExecuDve Director Biomedical Sciences and Consumer Businesses at Singapore Economic Development Board
KrisDna Rutkute, ScienDfic Programme Manager for SPRINT-­‐TB at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NaDonal University of
Singapore
Lance Lijle, Managing Director at Roche DiagnosDcs Asia-­‐Pacific
Leslie Chaney, Senior Director of Asia-­‐Pacific Commercial OperaDons at Marken
Maha Guruswamy, Senior Director JAPAC Service at Sciex
Margam Chandrasekaran, CEO & Chief ScienDst at Bio-­‐Scaffold InternaDonal
Michel Birnbaum, Entrepreneur in Residence at NTUiDve, Nanyang Technological University
Nawal Roy, at Founder & CEO at Holmusk
Neo Kah Yean, Senior Director Vaccines Asia-­‐Pacific at Janssen Singapore
Nicholas Paton, Programme Lead for SPRINT-­‐TB at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NaDonal University of Singapore
Patrik Frei, Founder and CEO of Venture ValuaDon
Renaud Jonquieres, Vice President ASPAC Industry at bioMerieux Singapore
Ron Snir, Commercial Ajaché at the Israel Trade & Economic Office, Embassy of Israel in Singapore
Rosaline Chow Koo, Founder & CEO at ConneXionsAsia (CXA)
Sharon Chiang, ‎Senior Technology Consultant at IPI Singapore
Siew Hwa Ong, Director & Chief ScienDst at Acumen Research Laboratories
Simranjit Singh, General Manager, Medical Devices & DiagnosDcs Asia and Senior Director, Strategic Planning Asia at QuinDles
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 4

5. Executive summary
ingapore is entering its fourth phase of bioscience sector development. Over the
first three phases in the past fioeen years, Singapore has built world-­‐class
infrastructure for bioscience R&D and manufacturing, and ajracted and
developed skilled talent for basic as well as translaDonal research.
The bioscience sector now accounts for S$1.5B in total R&D expenditure and S$30B in
manufacturing output, and has ajracted R&D partnerships from major mulDnaDonal
companies in pharmaceuDcal and medical device segments. In terms of translaDng to
commercial success, early inspiraDons include: the first novel drug from a Singapore
company to achieve FDA approval (MerLion Pharma's anDbioDc -­‐ finafloxacin), a pipeline
relevant to local disease burden including gastric cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic
diseases, and a slew of start-­‐ups in biopharma, medical device, diagnosDcs and health
technology segments (Aslan, Endomaster, Veredus DiagnosDcs, ConneXionsAsia, Healint,
and many others).
Though Singapore has succeeded in building a reputaDon as a regional biomed cluster,
challenges remain. With limited resources and rising costs, there is a need to focus R&D on
areas where Singapore has a disDncDve edge. CommercialisaDon remains at an early stage,
with gaps in venture capital and complex skill-­‐set required to bring healthcare products and
services to market. Finally, there are opportuniDes leo untapped in emerging Asian
markets, which are expanding their populaDons' access to healthcare with the result of
soaring demand and expenditure on medical devices, diagnosDcs, therapeuDcs and
technologies.
In this white paper, we review the development to date and in comparison with a few other
bioscience clusters: Israel, Taiwan and South Korea. We then highlight R&D,
commercialisaDon and talent development opportuniDes that can help Singapore sustain
and entrench its posiDon over the next 10 years as the Biopolis of Asia.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 5
S

6. Looking back
Recap of bioscience sector
development in Singapore 2000–15
In June 2000, the Singapore government launched its iniDaDve to develop Singapore into an
internaDonal biomedical sciences hub: the ‘biopolis’ of Asia, one of the most research-­‐intensive,
innovaDve and entrepreneurial economies. The bioscience cluster comprises healthcare services,
pharmaceuDcals and biotechnology, medical devices, health technologies, and food & nutriDon.
Much of the current Singapore bioscience cluster did not exist fioeen years ago, and has taken shape
as the result of a top-­‐down effort to rapidly develop excellence in research and development,
manufacturing and healthcare delivery. Three government agencies – the Biomedical Research Council
(BMRC) of A*STAR, the Biomedical Sciences Group (BMSG) of the Economic Development Board, and
the NaDonal Medical Research Council (NMRC) of the Ministry of Health – have led sector
development thus far. CommercialisaDon support in terms of grants, incenDves and incubators for
SMEs also comes from the Standards, ProducDvity and InnovaDon Board (SPRING Singapore).
Singapore’s bioscience sector has developed over three phases during the past fioeen years: world-­‐
class infrastructure purpose-­‐built for R&D and bio-­‐manufacturing since phase 1, translaDonal and
clinical capabiliDes assembled in phases 2 and 3, and commercialisaDon gaining tracDon in phase 3.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 6
S$30B
Manufacturing output in 2012, up
from S$6B in 2000
Bioscience cluster highlights
50R&D centres (2014)
29Spin-offs (2010–2014)
Sources: Biomedical Sciences Industry in Singapore, EDB (2014)
A*STAR NaDonal Survey of R&D in Singapore 2013 (2014), A*STAR
Gross R&D
expenditure S
$1.5B
(2013)
Researchers
5,280
(2013)
Manufacturing
workforce
16,000
192
Patents awarded
A*STAR institutes (2010–
2014)
7 in 10 Pharma firms manufacture in SG
50 Manufacturing plants in 2014
BERD
33%
PUBERD
67%
University
38%
Public
38%
Private
24%
Medtech
63%
Pharma
63%
Research institutes and consortia established

7. How does Singapore compare?
With bioscience clusters in Israel,
Taiwan, South Korea
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 7
Israel Singapore Taiwan South Korea
R&D intensity: GERD/
GDP 2011
Researchers in R&D / mil
people 2011
Bioscience patent
applications (2012)
451 104 N/A 1,168
Scientific American 2015
Worldview biotech rank
# 18 # 5 # 25 # 23
3.97%
2.23% 2.30%
4.36%
6602 6494 7480 5928
Compared with regional clusters, Singapore enjoys an enviable posiDon as a hub for commerce,
finance, logisDcs and distribuDon, besides a reputaDon for world-­‐class infrastructure as well as skilled
and diverse talent. Rising costs of living and doing business, as well as a small local market and an
entrepreneurial deficit, are the major challenges for the bioscience sector in Singapore.
ComparaDvely, there is more commercialisaDon success observed in Israel, Taiwan and South Korea.
These clusters draw on the commercial and entrepreneurial mind-­‐sets of their workforce, as well as
abundant private capital, local (industry-­‐academia) as well as inter-­‐country collaboraDon, and focus on
emerging global trends in biosciences.
Taiwan
Biosciences a priority sector
since 1980s, long-term goal is 3%
of global biotech market
Public research to preclinical
stage and proof-of-concept, then
licensed to local firms
Strategic location for market
access: near China, SEA,
northeast Asia
IPOs at NASDAQ-style bourse
attract venture capital
South Korea
Large pharma market & clinical
trial hub: 800+ companies,
100+ drugs to market
Regional bio-clusters with R&D
institutes and venture funding
from diversified chaebol
MNC R&D collaborations and
licensing deals
Government goal: top 7
pharma powerhouse by 2020
Israel
Highly educated, driven and
entrepreneurial people: 70-80 new
life science firms annually
High R&D spend: top in GERD &
BERD (250 MNC R&D) as % GDP
Abundant venture capital and
access to US & EU markets
Strong IT sector and framework to
capitalise on big data
Sources: A*STAR, Israel Advanced Technology Industries, ScienDfic
American, World Intellectual Property OrganisaDon

8. New growth centres
Expand access to emerging markets
TradiDonally, developed countries such as the United States have been the focus for
healthcare companies worldwide, with high spending per person and as a percentage of GDP.
However these are increasingly challenging markets to serve, with governments clamping
down on soaring healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, emerging markets have been steadily boosDng their expenditure on healthcare.
Universal health coverage schemes in various countries, ageing, urbanisaDon and affluence,
and increasing disease burden (parDcularly for non-­‐communicable diseases) are boosDng
awareness and access to healthcare. Given Singapore's proximity to ASEAN countries and
emerging giants such as China and India, these markets present a vital long-­‐term opportunity.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 8
“There is a huge emerging
market in China and India for
frugal innovation in healthcare
technology. But the barrier to
capitalizing on this demand is
that I don't see enough
collaboration in Singapore with
these two large markets. Many
MNCs have R&D centres in
Singapore as well as India and
China, but there is very limited
cooperation with these. This is
a missed opportunity because
of the speed of getting things
done here, the quality of
manpower and the technology
facilitation that can be done in
places like Biopolis is huge
advantage for Singapore, which
could be used to collaborate
with those two emerging but
very large economies.”
Maha Guruswamy
Senior Director JAPAC at Sciex
However, these markets have different needs and
challenges: for instance, limited healthcare infrastructure,
personnel and equipment. As governments seek to expand
access with limited budgets and infrastructure, and paDents'
out-­‐of-­‐pocket costs remain high, value products and services
have posted strong growth. There is strong demand in these
markets for compeDDve pricing, ease of use and good-­‐
enough (not the best) quality and specificaDons.
How can Singapore's bioscience sector address regional
problems, given its very different size, affluence and
infrastructure? Skilled talent ajracted from around the
region, as well as collaboraDon with R&D centres in
emerging markets, can help idenDfy unmet needs and
opportuniDes. Singapore's superior infrastructure and skilled
talent can help develop soluDons quickly, and again draw on
regional talent and knowledge to coordinate producDon,
distribuDon and access to regional markets.
Virtually all the growth in Asia-Pacific healthcare
expenditure will come from emerging markets
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Thailand
Taiwan
South Korea
Singapore
Philippines
Pakistan
New Zealand
Malaysia
Japan
Indonesia
India
Hong Kong
China
Australia
USD billion

9. Focus areas for investment
Maximise relevance and return
To maximise relevance and return on
investment, elements of the bioscience sector
should clearly arDculate and follow strategic
focus areas. Given local and regional needs
and capabiliDes developed thus far, there are
three approaches for prioriDsaDon:
Align with local disease burden: Converge
A*Star, university and hospital research on
strategic health challenges: the biggest
contributors to the burden of disease in
Singapore. These are relevant for other
developed markets and also increasingly
emerging regional markets with ageing
populaDons and growing affluence.
Precision medicine for Asian phenotypes:
Leverage on locaDon to focus on specific
diseases with Asian disDncDveness, whether
presentaDon, pathology, genomic make up,
response to treatment, or the propensity to
adverse drug reacDons. Singapore's small size
and integrated health system make it a good
test hub for new health technologies and
innovaDons in the conDnuum of care. For
instance, a centralised populaDon genomic
database and regulatory framework for data
privacy and security, in addiDon to electronic
health records, can facilitate cost-­‐effecDve
research and analyDcs for personalised
therapies for the local populaDon, with
extrapolaDon potenDal to other markets.
Create value through complex producDon:
How can Singapore stay compeDDve as a
manufacturing locaDon, despite rising costs
here as well as growing sophisDcaDon of
regional alternaDves like China? By selecDng
complex manufacturing projects that need
skilled talent and cu^ng-­‐edge technology,
such as biologics. Singapore should conDnue to
invest in next-­‐generaDon plaxorms to help
bioscience companies make dramaDc
improvements to producDvity and costs.
Government collaboraDon and risk-­‐sharing will
help ajract such investment, besides
availability of talent to facilitate expansion to
regional markets.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 9
Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) quantify premature
mortality (years of life lost, YLLs) & disability (years lived
with disability, YLDs)
Source: Ministry of Health, Singapore burden of disease
study 2010
7.7%
14.0%
14.2%
19.9%
18.9%
Respiratory infections
Neurological
Diabetes
Heart disease
Cancer
Burden of disease: Singapore
% of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)
“Singapore is in a unique situation because
the population is small but concentrated and
there is good integration between the health
system and government bodies. I believe it's
easier for Singapore to put in place a
[genomic] database and start to explore what
the information means for patients here and
then extrapolate to other countries. I don't
see Singapore's size as a barrier but an
opportunity: the size makes such a project
easily manageable.”
Elena Rizova
‎Vice President External Innovation Asia
Pacific at Johnson & Johnson
“We have Amgen, who have launched their
factory of the future in Singapore. This is a
complete single-use facility, and it took 1/4 of
the cost to build and 1/4 of the land space as
opposed to a traditional biotech facility. I think
there is a lot of opportunity for us to invest and
advance the technology, and that's how we
can differentiate and promote Singapore.”
Kevin Lai
‎Executive Director Biomedical Sciences and
Consumer Businesses, EDB
1
2
3

10. Accelerating commercialisation
Range of routes to market
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 10
Looking back at the past fioeen years of bioscience development, Singapore’s strengths in basic and
translaDonal research capabiliDes have yet to translate into substanDal commercial success.
Commercialisation
outcomes
Singapore Comparison with: Israel
# IPs licensed 238 (2010–2014) 259 (2012–2013)
# Spin-offs 29 (till 2013) 72 (2012–2013)
Data sources A*STAR Israel Advanced Technology Industries
“The commercialisation journey takes a while,
but we are starting to see some outcomes
happening in the Singapore’s biomedical space.
For example, we have had half a dozen
biomedical start-ups from A*STAR annually in
recent years and several others from the
universities as well. More importantly,
Singapore-based companies and academia
have developed a strong pipeline of drug
candidates and several have successfully
advanced into clinical testing both here and
overseas.”
Jonathan Kua
‎Director, Industry Development Group, A*STAR
“Singapore has the scientific capabilities,
clinical infrastructure and some exciting IP in
A*Star, Duke-NUS and other institutions.
The challenge is in translating clinical ideas
into commercial success; we have few
examples of such success. Singapore has
attracted scientists but not a great deal of
entrepreneurial and commercial experience
in getting drugs to patients: big pharma and
biotech experience with a blend of R&D,
commercial and investor perspectives. This
is what we are now trying to change.”
Carl Firth
‎CEO, Aslan Pharmaceuticals
To speed up commercialisaDon, it is vital for bioscience segments to pursue viable channels to market;
entrepreneurship comprises just one of several opDons.
Licensing
Spin-offsCollaboration
Start-ups
From an institute
perspective, industry
engagement may span
collaborative research
funded by a private
unit (e.g. MNC R&D)
at a public institute or
university, to licensing
of IP in return for
royalties
Spin-offs are created,
financed and
managed by
universities; start-ups
have external
investors and
management plus
often in-licensed
technology

11. Accelerating commercialisation
Range of routes to market
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 11
Boost engagement with industry
Why collaborate? The R&D costs for medical devices and drugs are soaring, with >US$1.2B spent
on average per drug approved, according to QuinDles, a leading contract research organisaDon.
Given the relaDvely longer ‘valley of death’ for drug and medical device development, as
compared to a health technology or services, clinical development now needs large reserves of
private capital – or alternaDvely, extensive collaboraDon. For drug discovery in parDcular, a viable
channel to market is through established big pharma, who are in turn shioing decisively towards
open innovaDon models with growing reliance on R&D partners to reduce costs.
How to accelerate? The following success factors are vital for effecDve collaboraDon, to generate
ideas and develop products with bejer commercial potenDal.
Strong
industry
base
Researchers
open to
collaboration
Alignment of
institutes and
industry
Attract and
retain corporate
innovation and
venture funds,
and early-stage
R&D centres
Boost industry and
international exposure to
familiarize researchers
with cutting-edge science
and enable them to speak
industry language
Facilitate validation;
streamline intelligence
and legal processes to
accelerate collaboration
and tech transfer to SMEs
and large enterprises
“Research institutes in Singapore generate
some exciting intellectual property, and
investigators are open to collaborating with
industry. Streamlining tech transfer and
licensing processes will speed up
partnerships, and prevent companies’
interest from moving on to other locations
and topics.”
Brian Henry
‎Executive Director and Site Lead, Early
Discovery Pharmacology and Exploratory
Sciences at MSD Translational Medicine
Research Centre
“There is an increasing need for sophisticated
technology and expertise to test novel therapies
and devices: for instance, humanised and
immunocompetent animal models to test
immunotherapies; genomic biomarkers to
support clinical trials, and the like. Public-
funded research supports many of the activities
that help validate such technologies, and bring
them to a stage that would be relevant to
companies.”
Benjamin Seet, Executive Director of the
Biomedical Research Council at the Agency for
Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
1

12. Accelerating commercialisation
Range of routes to market
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 12
Ajract savvy private capital to grow start-­‐ups and SMEs
“There is a real and immediate need in Singapore for an entrepreneur with a great health tech idea to be
able to surround himself or herself with the right acceleration mechanisms and expertise in order to
quickly succeed. Today, this 'acceleration' platform simply does not exist in Singapore, despite vehement
agreement among key decision makers in Singapore that this should happen and this needs to be
resolved sooner rather than later, otherwise Singapore will miss out contributing significantly to that
ecosystem.”
Julien de Salaberry
Chief Innovation Officer at The Propell Group
Short gestation time
helps attract capital
Health tech & services
Device & diagnostics
Pharmaceuticals
Unlike clusters such as the United States or
Israel, Singapore lacks ready access to an
investor base with deep biotech knowledge and
experience. Local investors as well as offices
established by internaDonal venture capital are
ooen generalists, and have other opDons with
faster return or lower risk than biotech.
Singapore also lacks a NASDAQ-­‐style bourse, with
trade sales accounDng for the majority of transacDons.
An exchange such as the GreTai SecuriDes Market
(Taipei Exchange) in Taiwan could provide a financing
opDon for domesDc bioscience companies and enable
a vibrant IPO market to ajract private capital from a
range of investors: retail, venture capital, private
equity, family offices, as well as corporate investors.
120 /
685
total
Taiwan GTMS: Listed
biotech companies, 2014
“I think it's very difficult for a company in Singapore to
raise money after the initial government grant. In the
US or Europe, there are VCs, corporate investors,
business angels, family offices, patient organisations,
philanthropy and grant funding – there is a whole
range. In Singapore, I don't see an investor
community, e.g. a business angel club or many
corporate investors. As for bringing in investors from
the outside, you need a local VC who can bring in
American VCs. They need to have a lead investor
who is a local, someone they can trust – it is too far
away from the US or Europe to take a lead.”
Patrik Frei
Founder and CEO of Venture Valuation
“Government grants such as LETAS
are too generalised. Companies are
eligible for government grants only if
<5 years old, which is fine for a
software company to go to market.
But medical equipment technology
development to final execution will
take 8–10 years. Also some grants
are on reimbursement basis, but
young companies do not have
resources to spend upfront.”
Dr Margam Chandrasekaran, CEO &
Chief Scientist at Bio-Scaffold
International
Finally, there is room for effecDve sector-­‐specific incubators and accelerators to provide shared
faciliDes as well as guidance to help scale up bioscience businesses. Success stories will help
spark more interest in commercialisaDon, both from entrepreneurs as well as venture capital.
Time to
market &
difficulty
raising
capital
2

13. Next-generation talent
Commercial and convergence skills
Ajract senior talent with the mulD-­‐
funcDonal experience and perspecDves.
Bring in, encourage and support MNCs with
internal cross-­‐training, to expand and
entrench their R&D funcDons in Singapore
and also anchor their regional headquarters
in Singapore. Besides drawing in
internaDonal talent, this will also serve to
develop local talent who are likely to be
cross-­‐trained as opportuniDes arise when
they advance in their careers. The star
talent brought in for the next phase should
combine R&D and commercial
perspecDves. Singapore already enjoys a
reputaDon for the best quality of life in
Asia; sustain and enhance stability, vibrancy
and ease of living and working here to
conDnue to ajract global talent and to
retain the best and brightest locals.
Train workforce in core skills to support and
capitalise on convergence trends.
IdenDfy areas with emerging convergence,
and steer the terDary educaDon system to
equip new entrants to the workforce with
relevant skill sets. For example, the advent
of big data and its growing applicaDon in
biosciences presents an opportunity for a
next wave of highly skilled jobs. Singapore
can capitalise on this opportunity by
creaDng a criDcal mass of cross-­‐trained
talent, such as scienDsts who understand
staDsDcs and computer programming, and
can apply those skills to biosciences R&D.
As medicine grows increasingly mulD-­‐
disciplinary, cross-­‐trained medical
specialists will add to the pool of experts
able to spot and exploit opportuniDes to
develop future therapies and technologies.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 13
Human capital is a criDcal component to realise R&D, manufacturing and commercialisaDon
strategies for the next phase. The bioscience sector being a heavily knowledge-­‐based industry, the
availability and relevance of talent is essenDal to success.
Considering talent needs for the next phase, there is a stark gap surfacing in spaces for cross-­‐
funcDonal talent, where tradiDonal skill sets converge. Bringing bioscience products and services
to market requires a range of capabiliDes spanning research, development, regulatory and market
access, sales and markeDng, financial and so on. MulD-­‐funcDonal talent with relevant experience
in R&D as well as sales and markeDng will be of criDcal importance in rapidly commercializing new
products and services. This convergence of a deep technical background with strong commercial
experience is a skill set that is not commonly available in Singapore. To engineer a depth of such
talent, the bioscience sector should uDlise a two-­‐pronged talent strategy.
“Singapore is still in the first cycle of
entrepreneurship. There is plenty of excellent
scientific expertise but a shallow experienced
talent pool with the commercial and
management skills to develop a product and
bring it to market. There is a lack of people
who can be CEOs, COOs, CFOs; what we
have is scientists trying to start companies.
They have had little exposure to business,
especially the entrepreneurial side. These skills
cannot be built overnight, so there is a need to
attract the necessary talent.”
Michel Birnbaum, Entrepreneur in Residence
at NTUitive, Nanyang Technological University
“Singapore should do more to grow its next
generation of leaders. The government and
industry can help to identify good people to
groom for C-level positions. Then the
industry should rotate the talent through
meaningful assignments to build cross-
functional skills: R&D, commercial, country
assignments, sales experience and so
forth. We must create opportunities to
develop a pipeline of outstanding
management talent.”
Abel Ang, Chief Operating Officer at
Accuron Technologies
1 2

14. Conclusion
The next ten years
Over the past 15 years, Singapore has developed into a renowned bioscience cluster through
top-­‐down investment in world-­‐class infrastructure and skilled talent for R&D and bio-­‐
manufacturing. In the next ten years, industry should take the lead to create lasDng
commercial success.
A solid base of biosciences SMEs is key, and is a major gap to be filled. Health technology and
services companies with quicker Dme to market have the edge in terms of ajracDng
impaDent capital. Efficient investment should span a balanced porxolio of incremental and
transformaDonal ideas across medical devices, diagnosDcs, pharma and biotech. AjracDng
more corporate and venture funds and incubators will help find, fund and guide ideas with
commercial potenDal. More public-­‐private collaboraDon will increase commercial potenDal of
R&D.
Build the right talent, and more capital will come. Commercial experience is the biggest gap to
fill: an efficient yet effecDve staff to manage SMEs, with cross-­‐funcDonal skills across R&D,
engineering, quality control, regulatory, market access, finance and sales and markeDng. It is
necessary to ajract such stars from across the globe, and also vital to steadily develop the
local talent pool. Beyond building a top layer of management talent, training a mid layer in
convergence skills can bring the next wave of skilled and well-­‐paying jobs to Singapore.
Singapore's limited market size has always spurred local companies to expand internaDonally,
usually to large developed markets such as the US or Europe. By focusing our R&D efforts to
address the differing healthcare needs of emerging markets, a new breed of entrepreneurs
can harness Singapore's infrastructure and talent to meet the demands in ASEAN, China &
India. This will open up a wealth of new opportuniDes. Singapore can establish itself as a
regional hub to develop technologies & innovaDons to access these new markets.
The next phase of development presents new challenges and opportuniDes for Singapore, as
healthcare markets undergo transformaDonal shios on a global scale. As we look ahead to
2025, the bioscience sector should consider how best to create success stories that inspire
more biosciences companies to establish & grow in Singapore.
The Next Lap: Biosciences in Singapore 2025 14

15. About BioSingapore
Clearstate (www.clearstate.com), a business of the Economist Intelligence Unit, is a research
consultancy specialising in the domains of healthcare and life sciences, advising on growth
strategies in emerging economies.
Clearstate is the go-­‐to research consulDng partner for clients seeking greenfield growth
opportuniDes in fast-­‐expanding emerging economies. By leveraging The Economist
Intelligence Unit’s depth of country experDse, we offer visibility and credible forecasts on the
direcDon of emerging economies’ opaque healthcare environments.
We have a strong reputaDon among our clients for our depth of industry knowledge, our
collaboraDve approach and our innovaDve soluDons. We are recognised for consistently
listening and working in partnership with our clients to deliver comprehensive and granular
answers that go beyond the obvious.
About the authors
Wilson Tan is Director, Strategy & New SoluDons at Clearstate. He has more than 12 years of
consulDng experience within healthcare in Asia-­‐Pacific and emerging markets, across medical
technology, pharmaceuDcal, life sciences and healthcare services sectors
Kavitha Hariharan is a Principal Consultant at Clearstate. She has over 9 years of experience in
market intelligence and strategic advisory to mulDnaDonal, SME and government clients in
medical devices, pharmaceuDcal and healthcare services sectors.
This white paper drew on research support provided by Hantao Liang, an Analyst at Clearstate.
While every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of this informaDon, Clearstate (Pte) Ltd and the Economist
Intelligence Unit Ltd. cannot accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by any person on this report or any of the
informaDon, opinions or conclusions set out in this report.
Copyright © 2015 Clearstate (Pte) Ltd. All rights reserved.
For enquiries, please email info@clearstate.com
About Clearstate
BioSingapore is a premier and established life sciences associaDon operaDng in Singapore and the
ASEAN region since 2004.
Our vision is to enable a successful and vibrant life sciences community in Singapore by connecDng
industry to soluDons.
BioSingapore is a unique industry plaxorm for dialogue, interacDon, research, debate, advocacy and
knowledge exchange. We run networking sessions, interacDve lectures, industry focus groups,
dinners, execuDve and entrepreneur briefings and other events, alone or in collaboraDon with our
network of partners.
Please see our website to join as a member -­‐ www.biosingapore-­‐sg.com