Pharma, Biotech Firms Partner Singapore To Accelerate Drug Discovery In Asia

Singapore’s integrated research network offers multidisciplinary capabilities across basic and translational research. Biopolis is a biomedical research hub in Singapore that co-locates public-sector institutes and private-sector corporate labs.

Reportedly, the Biopolis’ expansion is a key initiative amongst many to meet companies’ rising need to capitalise on Asia’s growth story.

Pharma firms with R&D bases in the Biopolis include Abbott, Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, and Takeda. Recent biotech additions to Biopolis include Inviragen and Forma Therapeutics.

Earlier, in January 2010, Roche has entered into a strategic alliance with Singapore’s scientific and medical institutions to set up the Roche-Singapore Hub for Translational Medicine, which will focus on expanding knowledge of disease biology to develop new personalized treatment approaches.

Lilly-Singapore Center for Drug Discovery (LSCDD) is partnering with the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) and the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) to advance drug discovery using adult stem cells.

Italian-based Siena Biotech is partnering two research units under Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) – the Experimental Therapeutics Center (ETC) and Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) to develop drug therapies for cancer and targeted antibodies for bone diseases respectively.

In March 2010, Rhapsody Biologics, a spin-off from SIgN, licensed a portfolio of technologies to create a new Personalized Peptide Vaccine (PPV) platform that is accurate in predicting and optimizing peptide vaccines. Rhapsody is in talks with major pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines based on the PPV platform.

Mitsui entered into an equity agreement in January this year with Singapore-based CRO, Gleneagles, to strengthen its Asian clinical trials platform.

Masami Iijima, president of Mitsui, said: “In Europe and North America, manufacturers are speeding up the development of new drugs by carrying out clinical trials in Asian countries. With its operations in twelve Asian countries, Gleneagles CRC is well-positioned both to accelerate development and to reduce costs for pharmaceutical companies.”

Beh Kian Teik, director of Biomedical Sciences at Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), said: “Asia’s growth presents tremendous opportunities but its diversity also poses challenges. In companies’ foray into Asia, Singapore can help to enhance manufacturing and business excellence to strengthen their foothold in Asia.”

Edward Holmes, executive chairman of National Medical Research Council and deputy chairman of Biomedical Research Council at Singapore, said: “Leveraging Singapore’s close-knit research community and clinical research infrastructure, companies are positioned to develop cost-effective, efficacious therapies more quickly for Asia and global markets.”