REMARKS BY MR LIM CHUAN POH, CHAIRMAN, A*STAR, AT THE MEDIA CONFERENCE ON THE 15 th BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING ON FRIDAY, 8 OCT 2010 @ 1630H @ THE FULLERTON,SINGAPORE BMS PHASE 3: INTEGRATING FOR IMPACT OPENING REMARKS 1. Good afternoon and thank you for coming to the press conference today. This is a milestone marking the closing of the first 10 years of the BMS initiative and the beginning of the 3 rd phase. It is therefore timely for us to cast an eye on the past to take stock, and at the same time, to cast another eye to the future to move ahead. 2. We have just completed a very fruitful 15 th BMS IAC meeting chaired by Sir Richard Sykes, and are excited by the tremendous opportunities in the 3 rd phase of our BMS Initiative which begins next year. Two key factors contribute to our optimistic outlook: 1) The Government s sustained commitment to R&D, in particular the BMS sector, as a long-term strategy for Singapore s quality growth; and 2) Our successes and achievements in the first 2 phases of the BMS Initiative lay a strong foundation for us to be well positioned for the next phase. 3. In Phase 3 of the BMS Initiative, we will not only see greater integration across disciplines and organisations along the research and translational value Page 1 of 8
chain within the public sector, we will also see the forging of many meaningful and significant public-private partnerships to further grow Singapore s economy and improve healthcare delivery here and in the region. Introduction of New IAC Members 4. Before I continue, it is my pleasure to introduce a new member of the IAC Professor Jack Dixon, Vice-President and Chief Scientific Officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. We have another new member, Professor Paul Nurse a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, President of Rockefeller University and of the Royal Society. However, he is unable to join be here today. Over the past two days of the BMS IAC meeting, the IAC members shared with us many insights that will help us immensely as we move forward in our BMS Initiative. I will invite them to share their observations with you later. 5. Just last month, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will invest S$16.1 billion to support research, innovation and enterprise from 2011 to 2015. This move by the Singapore Government to increase its investment in R&D will enable Singapore to remain competitive and attractive as a world class international R&D hub for scientists and also for industries. Of the $16.1 billion in total research funding, $3.7 billion will go to BMS R&D a 12% increase from the last tranche of funding from 2006 2010. In line with the RIE2015 strategies, the funding will support Page 2 of 8
(a) better integration of research performers across the BMS landscape and beyond; (b) greater emphasis on translational and clinical research; and (c) stronger focus on economic outcomes. 6. In addition to the $3.7 billion budget, BMS researchers can also access the funds the Government has set aside for foundational and white space research, which is close to 20% of the entire budget of $16.1 billion. This increase in BMS funding by the Government is a strong signal that BMS R&D remains a priority in Singapore s long-term strategy to boost our economic competitiveness, achieve sustained growth and establish Singapore as Asia s Innovation Capital. BMS R&D IS A CRITICAL TOOL TO TRANSFORM AND GROW SINGAPORE S ECONOMY AND IMPROVE HEALTHCARE DELIVERY. SPECIFICALLY, IT WILL ENABLE SINGAPORE TO ATTRACT, ANCHOR AND CREATE HIGH-VALUE INDUSTRIES, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND JOBS 7. Now that we are completing two phases of the BMS Initiative, we are in a good position to assess how far we have come, and the extent of our achievements so far. Starting from ground zero, we developed the R&D infrastructure in Biopolis, built up our capabilities in basic BMS research as well as Translational and Clinical Research, and ventured into MedTech R&D all in a matter of 10 years. What we have achieved was no small feat as the IAC members will tell you, and it has enabled us to seize new economic growth Page 3 of 8
opportunities in areas such as the biologics industry and the medical technology industry, as well as create strategic growth opportunities, such as those available in the Asian markets. 8. Let me share with you some concrete outcomes of our BMS Initiative thus far. Our BMS manufacturing output for 2009 was S$21 billion. This was more than three times the output of S$6.3 billion in 2000. In terms of BMS s share of Singapore s total manufacturing output, it was 10% in 2009 an increase from 4% in 2000. The Compound Annual Growth Rate or CAGR of the BMS output was14%, reflecting the strong and steady growth in this sector. In 2009, BMS also accounted for about 21% of the total manufacturing value-added in Singapore or $9.1 billion in value-added. This was a significant increase from the value-added of $3.8 billion in 2000. 9. In terms of employment, in 2009, there were over 13,000 people employed in manufacturing in the BMS sector more than twice the number of 6,000 in 2000. In addition, there were also over 5,000 1 people employed in R&D jobs in the fields of biomedical and related sciences. Of the 5,000 people, more than 40% had PhDs 2, suggesting high value-added jobs were created in this sector. 1 Of the 5,000 people employed for R&D, 1,714 worked in the private sector compared to 3,629 who worked in the public sector. The ratio is 1:2. 2 Among the PhDs, 441 were employed in the private sector and 1811 were employed in the public sector. The ration if 1:4. Page 4 of 8
10. Today, we have over 100 global biomedical sciences companies in Singapore conducting various business operations and activities here, eg, Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pfizer, Roche, Becton Dickinson, Medtronic, Siemens and Hill-Rom. Some of the companies have even located their regional headquarters in Singapore. Over 50 of all the companies here are currently engaged in cutting-edge R&D. The presence of MNCs and their significant investments in R&D in Singapore will go far in encouraging highimpact research collaborations with local research agencies that can rapidly translate into a pipeline of industry-ready products. INTEGRATING MULTIPLE AGENCIES (RESEARCH INSTITUTES, HOSPITALS, INDUSTRY) ACROSS SINGAPORE TO WORK EVEN MORE CLOSELY TO ATTRACT INDUSTRY INTEREST AND INVESTMENTS FOR GREATER IMPACT GSK-Academic Centre of Excellence 11. Just yesterday, GSK-Academic Centre of Excellence or ACE, awarded four research grants to scientists in our local research institutes, hospitals and universities to investigate treatments for pressing medical problems prevalent in Singapore and the surrounding region. These research projects were selected by the ACE Steering Committee, made up of the GSK senior leadership and members from the Singapore biomedical research community such as the Biomedical Research Council, National Medical Research Council, National University of Singapore and Duke-National University of Singapore. You could say that this was a truly collaborative public-private partnership. ACE is therefore a good example of how industry can come together with the different research Page 5 of 8
performers in Singapore to collaborate and achieve greater impact for the society and the economy. 12. Many of you may also recall that at the beginning of this year, Roche announced that it would establish the Roche-Singapore Translational Medicine Hub here the first of Roche s TCR sites of this nature in the world. This investment of 100 million Swiss francs or S$130 million will tap the expertise of local BMS scientists and clinicians from the hospitals, universities and research institutes, and enable them to collaborate with Roche s core team of scientists to conduct multi-disciplinary research to accelerate the drug discovery and development process. 13. That GSK and Roche should choose to make major investments in Singapore are clear signs of industry confidence in the BMS R&D sector. It is also an endorsement that the R&D work that we do contribute not only to healthcare but also to the economy. This must be attributed in no small way to the firm foundation we have built up in BMS R&D over the last 10 years. 14. But it also points to one major advantage that we have in Singapore our ability to galvanise public sector agencies to come together seamlessly and engage industry for R&D and innovation. We call this the Whole-of-Singapore approach. And for good reason, too, because it accelerates the development of future solutions today. Our value proposition to industry is therefore this: Page 6 of 8
because we are integrated and well-coordinated, Singapore can offer industry players the opportunity of working with a range of public sector BMS research performers, with a spectrum of deep capabilities spanning basic to TCR research. And this is how Singapore research performers can collectively seize the fleeting windows of opportunity in the global R&D landscape, especially now that the game has moved to a different level and has also shifted to Asia. A Different Level of Engagement 15. There is now a perceptible shift in demand from the Western to the Asian markets, and global industry players are eager to enter the fray and tap the abundant opportunities in this region. This presents a good opportunity for Singapore. Geographically, Singapore is strategically situated to be a base from which industry can access the growing and increasingly affluent Asian market, where half of the world s population resides. Ethnically-diverse, Singapore has a valuable cross-section of phenotypes from which insights can be easily obtained for developing more effective therapies in Asia, for Asia. Collaborations with Singapore s research institutes, hospitals and universities will therefore enable companies to have a smooth translation of research findings into novel healthcare solutions with both clinical and market impact, particularly solutions for the Asian market. Indeed, as companies the world over look increasingly towards external R&D partners for new ideas, they will, like Roche and GSK, see that Singapore has the compeittive edge over other R&D locations, and work together with us to create strategic growth opportunities in the Asian market. Page 7 of 8
BMS Industry Partnership Office (IPO) 16. To help industry establish research collaborations with the different public sector agencies in a fuss-free way, we have now set up the BMS Industry Partnership Office (IPO). Mr Beh Kian Teik, the Director of Biomedical Sciences in Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), is the inaugural Programme Director. BMS IPO is a multi-agency office made up of the National Medical Research Council (NMRC), A*STAR and EDB operating within the framework of the BMS EXCO. It is designed to be a one stop shop for industry players that wish to collaborate with multiple Singapore agencies to tap their spectrum of capabilities able to do so seamlessly and without too much hassle. As with all programmes, there are KPIs set for the BMS IPO. In the next 5 years, it is expected to realise $150M R&D funding commitments from industry to Singapore s research institutions. STRONGER FOCUS ON ECONOMIC OUTCOME: INDUSTRY ALIGNMENT FUND (IAF) 17. Moving forward into the new phase of the BMS Initiative, we would like to encourage our public sector researchers to conduct more research projects that have greater alignment with industry needs. At A*STAR, the Industry Alignment Fund or IAF is established for this purpose. Our scientists may apply for funding for their projects under the IAF, which is jointly administered by A*STAR and EDB. Kian Teik will be able to share with you, later on, on how IAF is used to support the public sector scientists in their collaborations with industry. Page 8 of 8