Local life sciences sector faces gap in late stage capabilities
Daphne Yow
THE life sciences sector in Singapore is facing a gap in late stage capabilities of biotech companies here, which could hinder them in the future.
This gap means that companies here are less able to tackle big unmet medical needs or develop transformational science and technology solutions.
“What happens then is that precious talent, time, resources and money get wasted,” said Melinda Richter, global head of JLABS, Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s life science incubator and accelerator.
Richter was speaking to the media after signing a memorandum of understanding between JLABS and the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Tuesday (Oct 31) to support early-stage life science companies in the Singapore ecosystem.
JLABS will support such companies by providing the resources and facilities to accelerate their drug discovery processes and commercialisation, as well as offering opportunities to collaborate with local incubators and other strategic partners.
Choo Heng Tong, executive vice-president of new ventures and innovation at EDBI, the Economic Development Board’s investment arm, said that the collaboration will help advance the local life science sector with access to JLABS’ medical and scientific knowledge to accelerate developmental efforts.
In addition, the companies can also tap into JLABS’ insight in terms of product market fit and commercialisation approaches, building on their experience operating in other major markets.
“The addition of JLABS to the ecosystem will further energise the community here, in terms of supporting the growth of local life science startups, as well as welcoming global startups around the world to set up here,” said Choo.
EDB and JLABS have also issued a call for startups across the world to participate in the Singapore QuickFire Challenge, which focuses on healthcare solutions. Winners can receive up to US$100,000 in grant funding to develop their solutions further.
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