Singapore's bio strategy differs from the conventional path of "starting from research and moving to manufacturing." It first built a manufacturing base capable of large-scale production, then chose to raise research and innovation capacity on the back of process experience and talent accumulated in that process.
The executor of this plan is JTC, Singapore's state-owned industrial estate developer. JTC classifies the bio industry into three stages—research and development (R&D), prototyping and early manufacturing, and mass production—and has placed facilities suited to each stage in different locations. It put research hubs in the city center and manufacturing infrastructure in the western industrial area.
On the 5th (local time), Siying Chen, deputy director of the JTC biomedical institutional sector, told ChosunBiz, "Singapore has made manufacturing a core pillar since the early days of nation-building, and manufacturing still underpins the economy, accounting for about 20% of gross domestic product (GDP)," adding, "We have focused on maintaining and strengthening this pillar because it is the 'livelihood foundation' that creates jobs and technology at the same time."
Chen said, "We have continued a strategy of leveraging our geographic position as Asia's gateway to attract global corporations, centered on strategic industries such as biomedical, aerospace, and semiconductors," and explained, "The biomedical sector has now established itself as a major industry, accounting for about 3% of GDP and about 10% of manufacturing output."
◇ Research in the city, production in the west… a "buffer zone" for early manufacturing
Biopolis, built in One-North in the northwest of the city, is a research hub that corresponds to the "upstream" of Singapore's bio industry. It is also the space where the national strategy to raise research capacity after first establishing a manufacturing base became tangible in earnest. Starting with phase one in 2003 and expanding six times, it now covers about 382,000 square meters.
The complex houses biomedical research institutes under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), as well as 115 corporations and institutions including global and local pharmaceutical and bio corporations and medical device corporations. Its proximity to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and National University Hospital (NUH) also makes it easy to link basic research with clinical research.
Its biggest feature is the structure of sharing research infrastructure. Through the A*STAR Research Support Centre (RSC), it shares expensive analytical equipment and specialized technologies, reducing equipment burdens and research preparation time for early-stage corporations. A JTC official said, "Thanks to that, occupancy is over 95%."
At the stage where research results lead to actual products, corporations move their stage to Tuas in the west. The Tuas Biomedical Park is a bio and nutraceutical specialized industrial park established in 1997, covering about 2.46 million square meters.
In the late 1990s, Singapore did not have sufficient basic life science research capacity. Instead, it had strengths such as political stability and regulatory predictability, port and logistics infrastructure, and a skilled process workforce. This is the background to its strategy of attracting production bases of global pharmaceutical companies before the government aimed to become a "new drug development nation."
Through this park, multinational pharmaceutical companies built a structure in which research and development remained in their home countries while large-scale production was carried out in Singapore. Singapore secured a manufacturing base that enabled technology transfer, operational experience compliant with good manufacturing practice (GMP), and the training of regulatory and quality personnel. Today, 19 global pharmaceutical and bio corporations, including Merck (MSD), Pfizer, and GSK, have bases here and produce vaccines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), among others.
Not only JTC but also relevant ministries such as the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the PUB, Singapore's national water agency, and the Energy Market Authority (EMA) participated in building the park. They prebuilt key infrastructure such as roads, power, and water so corporations could start production immediately after moving in.
There is also an intermediate stage space that links research and mass manufacturing. It is the MedTech Hub, Singapore's first dedicated integrated manufacturing facility for medical devices. The total area is about 38,000 square meters, comprising 36 units of various sizes.
Taking into account the characteristics of the medical device industry, where it is difficult to transfer research results directly to large factories, it was designed as a space where early manufacturing can be carried out. A key feature is that tenants can configure the interiors for their purpose starting from a shell-and-core state with only the basic frame and utilities in place.
A JTC official said, "Biopolis houses Eli Lilly and Company, P&G, the A*STAR Diagnostics Development (DxD) Hub, as well as regulatory agencies such as the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA)," adding, "If Tuas Medical Park and the MedTech Hub handle manufacturing, Biopolis is the center of an ecosystem where research, regulation, and corporate headquarters interlock," the official said.
The official said, "More than 80 major global bio corporations have their regional headquarters in Singapore, and many conduct research and development at Biopolis," adding, "The hallmark of Singapore's bio ecosystem is that research, manufacturing, and regulation are connected in a single spatial network."
◇ More than separating research and manufacturing… a "growth path" designed by the state
Singapore's bio infrastructure strategy does not merely emphasize spatially dividing research and manufacturing. The state defines the industry's growth stages and preemptively designs spaces suited to each stage to prevent corporations' "next move" from being across the border.
This aligns with Singapore's mid-to-long-term national industrial plans. Through its "Manufacturing 2030" vision, the government has positioned biomedical as a core pillar of advanced manufacturing and set a goal to increase manufacturing value-added by 50% by 2030 compared with 2020.
At the same time, through the "Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030" plan, it will invest about 37 billion Singapore dollars (about 37 trillion won) from next year through 2030 to strengthen research and development in the biomedical and advanced manufacturing fields. In this policy environment, global and local corporations such as AstraZeneca, WuXi Biologics, and SCG Cell Therapy are building production facilities and R&D centers in Singapore one after another.
Singapore plans to continue expanding infrastructure under state leadership. JTC is reviewing additional development of industrial land and is also preparing to refurbish Biopolis in response to changing research demand.
Deputy Director Chen said, "The bio industry is not a field that shows results in a few years like ICT," adding, "The history of Singapore's bio industry is only about 20 years, but sustained investment in research and development has increased the number of corporations that started in Singapore, and public-private cooperation has expanded noticeably."
Chen said, "In the process, the research domain expanded into consumer goods, food and nutrition, agri-bio, and chemicals, and the ecosystem supporting the bio industry naturally grew."