It's time to catalyse capital to boost biomed sector

COVID-19 has been the rudest wake-up call to the importance of biomedical research. One in 200 diseases known to science have meaningful treatments, while drug candidates face a 10,000-to-one odds of making it from research labs to pharmacy shelves. As a never-ending pipeline of new viruses continuously pummels societies, we must double down on biomedical research and development (R&D) to improve health and drive growth in the post-Covid era.

Singapore has long demonstrated the potential of long-term investments in science. Yearly R&D spending has risen S$1.5 billion since 2002, and Singapore now has one biomedical PhD for every 2,000 people. However, it still faces many challenges, internal and external.

China, for instance, has concurrently opened up and set its sights on drug development. Indeed, while the pharmaceutical industry recently closed many labs in Singapore, nearly all have set up R&D centres in China. Moreover, the small handful of private funds in Singapore is unable to fully support the local biotech sector in early-stage development.