Singapore's Biopolis and Malaysia's BioValley Vie for Biomedical Science Development Tenant's Billions

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The first phase of the 185,000 square meter Biopolis biomedical sciences research and development hub in Singapore is due for its official opening next month. The $500 million facility will have completed the seven buildings on the campus by the end of the first quarter 2004. These will house publicly funded research institutes, R&D labs of pharmaceutical and biotech companies and several key government agencies.

Biopolis is the latest development in the already well-established biomedical and pharmaceutical industry in Singapore. According to the country's Economic Development Board the BMS sector (biomedical sciences) generated $9.7 billion in manufacturing output with value added of $6.5 billion in 2002. Year on year, pharmaceutical product exports doubled in 2002 to account for over 10 percent of Singapore's domestic exports, excluding oil-based products.

The country's BMS sector, which employed 7,177 workers in 2002, added value of around $1 million per worker in the BMS sector which represented 18 percent of total manufacturing output value added and this was from its contribution of only seven percent of total manufacturing output.

Biopolis is looking to attract 4,000 scientists and 15 top international companies to the campus that is adjacent to the National University of Singapore's National University Hospital and the established Singapore Science Parks. Singapore already has top biopharma companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Astra Zeneca, Aventis, Schering-Plough, Wyeth, and Merck with established manufacturing plants and combined investments of well over $2 billion. Other major global pharma companies have long term clinical research facilities tied to local hospitals. Singapore already has a profile in cutting edge R&D in pharmaceuticals and genomics.

Not to be outdone by its Asian Tiger rival, Malaysia held a groundbreaking ceremony in May for 'BioValley Malaysia'. Sited on 80 hectares in Dengkil it will be home to the proposed Genomic and Molecular Biology Institute, and the Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical and Agro-Biotechnology Institute. An initial start up budget for the institutes of $26.32 million has been allocated. The site is strategically positioned in Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor in Selangor state.

The Malaysian company, Improser's subsidiary, In'novase Bhd will develop a seven-acre site in 2004, where it will operate enzymatic treatment development of waste items of palm kernel. Also in 2004, a joint venture between China's Dalai Sen-I Bioengineering and Malaya's INS Holding will be set up with an investment of $20 million to manufacture mineral water, bio-dynamic oil, wheatgrass tea, and bio-fertilizer. Other ventures under the venture's umbrella will be shifted to BioValley in 2004.

The Business Times of Singapore reports the country's ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment as saying that Malaysia is well aware of the potential of its rich hinterland and is in agreement with analysts who say that it makes sense for Malaysia to tap its rich natural resources rather than trying to replicate Singapore's strategy. Malaysia is one of 12 countries in the world with mega-diverse bio-resources, says the ministry. It has over 12,500 species of flowering plants, more than 1,100 species of ferns, a rich marine eco-system and has claim to the most diverse coral community in the world. Tongkat Ali (Ali's cane) is held as a national treasure. Its scientific classification is 'eurycoma longifolia' and the roots are considered to be Malaysia's own answer to Viagra and other male erectile dysfunction drugs. There are many other naturally sourced bio products that Malaysian research can develop.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been collaborating with 18 Malaysian research institutions since 1999 to develop the BMS industry and attract biotech firms, including smaller companies from Singapore. MIT research shows that BioValley is expected to lure between $10.5 billion and $12.2 billion worth of investment in the next 8 to 10 years. 30,000 jobs will be created by 250 newly based companies. The government is expected to contribute around $465 million in projects kickstarting and a total of $907 million to build the required infrastructure.

There are claims and counter claims between the promoters of Singapore's Biopolis and Malaysia's BioValley which are based on rental charges, tax relief and special considerations for valued tenants at each campus. Both claim high quality research support and networks. Analysts believe that with the two centers pursuing differently tuned strategies there is room for both of them to thrive.

Singapore's Business Times reports that on the downside of any BMS venture there are risks even when funding is available. A study by the Pharmaceutical Industry Profile last year concluded... 'that one in 1,000 compounds survives pre-clinical tests. Of that, only one in five make it as an approved medicine. In other words, the governments are backing companies whose prospective products have a 1:5,000 chance, or less, of making it'.

Another reported reason for caution for the Biopolis and BioValley promoters is based on a Tufts University study which has the average cost of bringing a medicine to market as $802 million based on 2000 dollar terms.

No doubt the competition in a hyper-techno business environment will keep them smiling when swallowing the medicine. Just tell us about the big winners waiting in the future.