The Rise of Singapore's Biopharmaceutical Industry: The Next Gold Rush for Domestic Pharmaceutical Companies?

Release time： 2024-07-26

【Summary Description】 In the global pharmaceutical industry, Singapore has gradually become a shining star in recent years, attracting the attention of numerous domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies. Especially in the past few years, Chinese pharmaceutical companies have extended their investment tentacles to this Southeast Asian island nation. This phenomenon has sparked widespread attention and reflection: what factors have prompted Chinese pharmaceutical companies to be so enthusiastic about Singapore? Is it the temptation of policies, the potential of the market, or other deeper reasons? Meanwhile, what challenges and opportunities do Chinese pharmaceutical companies face in their development in Singapore? This article will delve into these issues in depth.

In the global pharmaceutical industry, Singapore has gradually become a shining star in recent years, attracting the attention of numerous domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies. Especially in the past few years, Chinese pharmaceutical companies have extended their investment tentacles to this Southeast Asian island nation. This phenomenon has sparked widespread attention and reflection: what factors have prompted Chinese pharmaceutical companies to be so enthusiastic about Singapore? Is it the temptation of policies, the potential of the market, or other deeper reasons? Meanwhile, what challenges and opportunities do Chinese pharmaceutical companies face in their development in Singapore? This article will delve into these issues in depth.

The development of Singapore's biopharmaceutical industry is not achieved overnight, but through years of careful planning and continuous investment. In the 1980s, the Singapore government began to vigorously develop biopharmaceutical technology. In 2000, the biopharmaceutical industry was included in the national strategy and a 15 year Biomedical Science Incentive Program was launched. Since then, the Singapore government has continuously launched phased plans to enhance the strength of the biopharmaceutical industry.
With strong government support, Singapore has become a leading global center for innovative medical production and drug research and development, as well as one of the fastest-growing biotechnology industry clusters in Asia. In 2020, the output value of Singapore's biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry reached 157.7 billion yuan, accounting for 10.8% of the national manufacturing output value. In 2021, the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry grew by 11.1% year-on-year. At the same time, Singapore has also performed well in terms of industrial talent, with over 25000 employees in the biopharmaceutical industry in 2020, ranking second in the world in terms of talent competitiveness index.
Singapore has formed an industrial development spatial pattern of "R&D and Big Stone Manufacturing". Qiao Biotechnology Park focuses on research institutions and is committed to promoting R&D innovation and achievement transformation; Dashi Biomedical Park is mainly focused on manufacturing enterprises, with a focus on the fields of biological products and medical devices. At present, Singapore has over 300 key enterprises, more than 60 multinational company factory bases, and over 30 research and development centers in the field of biomedicine. World leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, AbbVie, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, and Amgen have invested in building large-scale innovation research bases in Singapore.