R&D tie-ups are driver of biomedical growth

[SINGAPORE] FROM pockets of research activity pre-2000, Singapore has built up a global status in the biomedical sciences, with a R&D landscape teeming today with not only all the world's top pharmaceutical and medical technology players but also home-grown capabilities.

And as the biomedical initiative marks another milestone this week - Biopolis, the research hub at one-north, turns 10 - the strategy now is to diversify the sector, riding on two key trends: rise of the Asian middle class and growth of open innovation among companies.

But the focus stays sharply on value creation, says Lim Chuan Poh, chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star).

The vision in 2000 was to broaden Singapore's manufacturing economy with biomedical sciences (BMS) as a new pillar. By that yardstick, "we have succeeded", he said in an interview, adding that the resul…