Labcorp launches bioanalytical lab in Singapore, expands headcount by 25%

AMERICAN life sciences company Labcorp has launched a new laboratory in Singapore and is planning to expand its headcount by 25 per cent.

The company's latest investment will add about 90 research and engineering jobs to its 350-strong team in Singapore, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said at the launch of the facility on Wednesday (Nov 10).

The roles include nursing coordinators to facilitate decentralised clinical trials, as well as data engineers to develop artificial intelligence technologies to assist in diagnosing diseases, he added.

Labcorp's new bioanalytical lab facility is an expansion of its central laboratory services here and will help to expand the capabilities of Singapore's biomedical ecosystem, Gan said.

In particular, Labcorp's bioanalysis and immunochemistry platforms will provide bioanalytical testing services that are critical to early-stage development of biologics and vaccines in Singapore, he said.

The platforms are compliant with Good Laboratory Practice and Good Clinical Practice, both of which are international quality standards for research.

Gan added that Labcorp's expansion will also provide companion diagnostics laboratory testing support as well as cell and gene therapy testing capabilities that align with Singapore's focus areas for the sector.

"With these capabilities, companies in Singapore will be able to tap on Labcorp's services to speed up the design, development and commercialisation of healthcare technologies," said Gan.

"They will also make us an even more compelling regional biomedical hub, and help us attract more leading-edge investments in the sector."

Gan said the biomedical sector will continue to be a key growth driver for Singapore's economy; it expanded 24 per cent last year compared with 2019 despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Besides Labcorp, major players such as Thermo Fisher, BioNTech, Sanofi and GSK have also announced investments in Singapore over the past 2 years, he noted.

"We often hear from these firms that they are attracted by Singapore's deep talent pool, supportive infrastructure, rule of law, strong IP (intellectual property) protection and innovative ecosystem," said Gan.

"The presence of these firms here in turn strengthens our ecosystem and makes it even more vibrant, creating a self-reinforcing effect to turbocharge the overall growth of our biomedical sector."

Labcorp established its regional headquarters in the Republic in 1996, and Singapore now manages key functions such as project management, data analytics and talent and capability development.

The company recently inked research collaborations with the Singapore Immunology Network and the Diagnostics Development Hub under the Agency of Science, Technology and Research.