China’s biotech boom: Collaboration, not competition, for Singapore
While China dominates global drug development, Singapore’s strength lies in bridging Asian innovation with Western capital, say industry players
[SINGAPORE] Rather than viewing China’s biotech prowess as a threat, Singapore should leverage its position as a bridge between Asian innovation and Western capital to tap collaboration opportunities with its larger neighbour, industry players say.
China has accounted for over 75 per cent of regional venture capital (VC) and private equity funding since 2019, and now contributes 26.7 per cent of all drugs in the global development pipeline – up from 23.6 per cent a year ago, a report by consulting firm Bain & Company indicated.
This rapid rise has been fuelled by government initiatives, regulatory reforms and a strategic shift away from “me-too” and “me-better” drugs towards original, breakthrough innovation, said a separate report by Barclays.
Key regulatory reforms, including alignment with international standards and streamlined approval processes, have accelerated this transformation. Combined with superior research efficiency and lower costs, China has solidified its position as a global biotech powerhouse.
The data backs this up. Chinese firms can complete preclinical development in just 12 to 20 months, compared with the global average of 24 to 36 months, while research and development (R&D) costs are roughly one-third of US levels, Bain found.
While China’s dominance might appear to overshadow Singapore’s smaller and more expensive ecosystem, industry players argue the opposite – China’s growth presents opportunities for partnership rather than rivalry.
“One thing to dispel is that there isn’t really competition across life science ecosystems,” said Fabio La Mola, Bain partner and lead author of the report. “Effectively, what you’re seeing is different approaches to potentially cure the same diseases. The competition really happens in the clinic.”
Singapore as bridge
Pharma veteran Andreas Wallnoefer said Singapore is well-placed to increase collaboration with China, given cultural similarities between the two markets.
“It’s much more difficult for a Swiss company now to do a joint venture with a Chinese company than if you are in Singapore,” he said. “You could boost your whole ecosystem by being the bridge between Asian innovation and the Western economy.”
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This positioning is already gaining traction. La Mola pointed to initiatives by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and Temasek connecting Singapore’s ecosystem with China’s in clinical trials, drug development, manufacturing and research – evidence that Singapore views China as a strategic partner.
Chinese VC firms such as Qiming Venture Partners and Lyfe Capital have also set up offices in Singapore, while Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, a major Chinese pharmaceutical company with artificial intelligence molecular design capabilities, has established an R&D centre at Biopolis.
But the bridge works in other directions. Singapore can also serve as a gateway for international VCs to access other Asian markets, Wallnoefer said.
“If international investors choose Singapore and not Shanghai to access Asian innovation, that doesn’t mean they would focus only on Singapore,” he said. “On the contrary, they would expect that via Singapore, they can also find good projects in South Korea, Taiwan and China. That is the unique role Singapore can have.”
A US firm entering China directly would face significant hurdles given current geopolitical tensions, and Chinese biotech firms expanding westward would come up against similar issues, noted Tong Hsien-Hui, executive director for investments at government-owned deep-tech platform SGInnovate.
In contrast, an American firm domiciled in Singapore can access China while navigating US Food and Drug Administration approval processes, making the city-state an attractive option, he said.
To capture such opportunities, Singapore must sharpen its niche in R&D, Wallnoefer said.
“The biggest value creation Singapore can have is as an innovation hub,” he said. “An innovation hub that translates excellent science, attracts the best science, and then translates it with a strong biotech system.”
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