SINGAPORE is launching new initiatives and centres for the commercialisation of research and development (R&D) in four areas: semiconductors, nucleic acid therapeutics, robotics and medtech.

The initiatives by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) were announced by Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng on Friday (Mar 1), during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.

First, the S$180 million National Semiconductor Translation and Innovation Centre will open in Fusionopolis this April, focusing on the emerging areas of flat optics and silicon photonics.

Companies and researchers can use its “semiconductor manufacturing platform infrastructure”, which includes scientists and engineers, cleanroom facilities and equipment.

Dr Tan, who is also minister for manpower, noted that the semiconductor sector has significant barriers to entry because of high investment costs, with cleanrooms and machines that can cost millions.

The new centre therefore aims to “help companies and researchers overcome this by providing them access to semiconductor infrastructure, and supporting prototyping and small-volume manufacturing”. The centre will also train local R&D talent, and give companies access to intellectual property developed by A*Star and Singapore’s public universities. Funding will come from the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE 2025) plan, which received an additional S$2 billion injection from Budget 2024.

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Second, RIE 2025 will provide S$97 million to the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative, which aims to position Singapore as a regional node for nucleic acid therapeutics (NAT) research, clinical translation and the commercialisation of ribonucleic acid (RNA) drugs and vaccines.

Dr Tan said: “Singapore has actually been developing capabilities in RNA research over the years through sustained investments in biomedical R&D.”

The initiative has two main components: the NAT Exchange platform for developing novel formulations of NAT and related technologies, and an RNA Foundry for developing manufacturing technologies and processes.

The initiative will “support and grow more local SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and startups, and attract more companies here”, said Dr Tan, noting that there are at least 10 local SMEs across the value chain of RNA therapeutics.

Third, the S$38 million Medtech Catapult initiative will be launched in April to accelerate the development of novel medtech products.

Focused on life-science tools and medical devices, Medtech Catapult will work with companies and product owners to translate research into commercial products, as well as train and upskill product engineers, noted Dr Tan.

“This initiative will help intermediaries like local contract manufacturing organisations move up the value chain, so they can not only manufacture, but also develop their own medtech product design and capabilities,” he added.

Finally, the National Robotics Programme will receive a new S$60 million tranche of funding, with a focus on commercialising robotics capabilities in sectors such as manufacturing and logistics, facilities management, and healthcare. This includes setting up new RoboClusters: robotics innovation clusters for the individual sectors. These clusters will bring together public-sector researchers, end-users and robotics companies for collaboration and co-development of solutions.

Together, the four platforms are expected to train over 200 specialised research talents, such as product and robotics engineers and research scientists. They will also deliver more than 75 projects, and license out over 40 technologies, among other outcomes.