At the heart of Singapore’s thriving biomedical sciences industry, the Biopolis is a world-class research complex and a focal point for scientific talent. Although the Biopolis was launched just a year ago, it has already achieved 90% occupancy, consisting of national research institutes and leading BMS industry players. In recent months, two of such industry players have established new facilities at the Biopolis, leveraging on its infrastructure, shared resources and existing research capabilities.
The first is GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. In September, GSK announced that it will establish its first pre-clinical research facility for neurodegenerative diseases in the Asia Pacific region. Some 35 scientists will be working on research for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, new therapies for Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia will be targeted.
Research work is set to start by 2005. It will focus on target validation, the first phase of drug discovery, which aims to identify and characterise drug candidates for further trials. Work at the GSK’s Biopolis facility will involve testing the effects of potential therapies in animal models.
GSK will be investing S$62 million for this research facility, which will be spent on research materials, equipment, facilities and staff cost. This brings GSK’s total investment in Singapore to over S$1 billion, which has been used to build up strategic manufacturing facilities, expand its production facility and undergo numerous research collaborations.
“GlaxoSmithKline is committed to expediting drug discovery for neurodegenerative disorders. This new facility builds on existing links with research in Singapore and represents a significant step forward in enabling us to continue to identify the best new drug candidates for clinical trials,” said Dr Jackie Hunter, Senior Vice President and Head of GSK’s Neurology and Gastro-Intestinal (GI) drug discovery unit.
The second company to set up facilities recently at the Biopolis is Isis Pharmaceuticals Singapore. This research lab officially opened in October and focuses on discovering new micro-RNA drugs and antisense drugs to treat Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), cancer and blood diseases. This facility allows its parent company, Isis Pharmaceuticals INC, a leading company in the area of RNA-based drug discovery and development, to expand its efforts into Asia.
“We are very pleased with the opening of Isis’ research facility in Singapore. Antisense and micro-RNA are exciting new areas of biological exploration which will strengthen Singapore’s drug discovery capabilities,” said Mr. Philip Yeo, Chairman of A*STAR and Co-Chairman of EDB’s Biomedical Sciences Group. “Locating at the Biopolis provides Isis with the opportunity to leverage scientific talent, specialized infrastructure and explore research collaborations. The opening of this centre adds to the vibrancy of research activities at the Biopolis and underlines our position as one of the leading sites in the region for innovative biomedical research,”
Scientists at Isis Pharmaceuticals Singapore aim to identify the function of micro-RNAs, small non-coding RNA gene products that are potential interaction sites for antisense drugs. The research programme will then design and optimize antisense inhibitors and small molecule modulators of therapeutically attractive micro-RNA targets.
“We are very pleased to establish a firm presence in Asia, and expand the use of our innovative technology and our leadership position in RNA-based drug discovery and development,” said Dr. Nicholas Dean, Isis Vice President, Functional Genomics and Managing Director of Isis Pharmaceuticals Singapore. “We have assembled a team of researchers with considerable scientific talent, the majority hired from within Singapore, to primarily focus on the advancement of our strategic research program on micro-RNA. Micro-RNAs have the potential to be a new class of drug targets.”
Date: 31-December-2004
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