Esco Group will add 100 positions in Singapore to fuel expansion

SINGAPORE-BASED life sciences company Esco Group will recruit around 100 positions here, to further fuel expansion in the Republic, it said.

Over the next year, the group will progressively hire more scientists and biomedical researchers to support research and development efforts through Esco Ventures X, its incubation arm for biotech startups.

About a third of new hires will constitute local biomedical researchers, Lin Xiang Qian, group president and chief executive of Esco Group told The Business Times (BT), adding that the firm is looking to bring talented PhD graduates from acclaimed research institutes in Singapore onboard the team.

It will also look to fill positions in chemistry, manufacturing and controls, as well as in quality assurance and manufacturing for Esco Aster, its contract development and manufacturing organisation arm.

The life sciences group has achieved about a 30 per cent surge in top-line growth on the back of tailwinds from the pandemic, said Mr Lin. It is now looking to widen its reach in the biotech sector through Esco Ventures X.

Carmine Therapeutics, a biotech startup which was founded in 2019 and incubated locally by Esco Ventures X, recently inked a US$900 million deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical, to discover, develop and commercialise two rare-disease drugs.

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Mr Lin told BT that the firm is also looking to hire for the incubation arm's latest launch PairX Bio, which is developing next generation cancer immunotherapies, as well as for its two new biotech startups in the pipeline.

Esco Group has over 1,000 employees, with proprietary products and services sold in more than a 100 countries. Its operating businesses are in life sciences equipment, medical devices, bioprocess tools and services.