Mr S Iswaran at the Opening Ceremony of Pfizer’s Clinical Research Unit

SPEECH BY MR S. ISWARAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF PFIZER’S CLINICAL RESEARCH UNIT, ON 5 FEBRUARY 2008,11.40 AM AT RAFFLES HOSPITAL LEVEL 10

Mr Jeffrey Kindler, CEO and Chairman, Pfizer Inc.

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen

A very good morning to you.

It gives me great pleasure to join you today for the opening ceremony of Pfizer’s Clinical Research Unit at RafflesHospital.

Pfizer first established a Phase 1 Clinical Research Unit in Singapore 5 years ago. Since then, the Pfizer Clinical Research Unit (PCRU) has grown from strength to strength. Today, the PCRU is a critical component of Pfizer’s global clinical research network, comprising one third of Pfizer’s global trials capacity. It is Pfizer’s Asian flagship Clinical Research Unit and one of only 3 worldwide.

Significance of PCRU

I am delighted that Pfizer has decided on this significant expansion of its research activities in Singapore. The latest investment of more than S$60million has tripled the size of the PCRU, making it the largest Clinical Research Unit in Singapore. This expansion clearly demonstrates Pfizer’s continued confidence in Singapore’s scientific capabilities, robust IP regime, and efficient regulatory system.

The PCRU consists of a 70-strong team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and clinical trials technicians. They focus exclusively on scientifically challenging Phase 1 trials, where new medicines are tested in man for the first time. The sophisticated setup of the PCRU enables results in Singapore to be shared globally within 24 hours. This ability to analyse trial results and review trial methodologies in real-time, gives Pfizer a tremendous advantage in accelerating the research cycle.

Singapore’s R&D outlook

Singapore aims to host more of such world-leading Translational and Clinical research activities. Pharmaceutical companies are expected to continue making significant R&D investments in Asia over the coming decade, and Pfizer’s decision reinforces Singapore’s position as a key R&D investment destination in Asia. In fact,Pfizer’s expansion comes hot on the heels of a record year for biomedical sciences R&D in Singapore.

Last year, the EDB brought in new biomedical sciences research projects that would result in investments worth over $500 million over the next 5 years. In 2006, R&D spending by biomedical sciences companies in Singapore reached a high of $531 million; almost triple the sum of $189 million in the year 2000. Correspondingly, the number of private sector research scientists and engineers (RSEs) involved in biomedical and related sciences research doubled to nearly 1,000 over the same period.

Initiatives in TCR

We have identified TCR as the next phase of growth for BMS R&D in Singapore. Therefore, the Government has made significant investments to strengthen our capabilities to bring discoveries from the bench to the bedside and ultimately improve human healthcare. Last year, we launched 3 new initiatives to advance our efforts in TCR.

The first is the A*Star-NUS-Siemens Clinical Imaging Research Centre (CIRC).Bioimaging is a fast-growing field which will have significant impact on our understanding of human diseases and responses to drugs.The CIRC provides advanced end-to-end biomedical imaging solutions for human studies, and will be one of the few clinical research sites in the world to have access to MR-PET, a combination of two powerful imaging techniques that allows clinical researchers to define and locate diseases accurately while identifying the underlying molecular causes.The CIRC will propel Singapore to the forefront of advanced research in new imaging methods, biomarkers and imaging agents, and support clinical trials of novel medicines and devices.

The second initiative is the launch of Investigational Medicine Units at 2 major public hospitals. The ability to design and develop protocols for early-phase trials will be crucial to Singapore’s development as a thought leader in TCR.The Singapore Government has committed S$140 million to build new TCR infrastructure, including the establishment of Investigational Medicine Units at the KentRidge and Outram campuses of our two medical schools – the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and the Duke-NUSGraduateMedicalSchool respectively. They will support both investigator and industry initiated first-in-man and proof-of-concept clinical trials, and position Singapore as the number one location in Asia for scientifically demanding studies.

Thirdly, we have the establishment of an Academic Clinical Research Organisation (ACRO) which is beneficial in supporting and strengthening clinical research in Singapore. The Academic Clinical Research Organisation will conduct epidemiology and outcome research studies and offer biostatistical and medical informatics capabilities.It will also serve as a single point of contact for the facilitation of multi-centered studies in Singapore.This will enable Singapore to push the intellectual frontiers of clinical research.

Conclusion

With these initiatives in place, the expansion of Pfizer’s Clinical Research Unit is certainly timely.It has an excellent fit with our focus on translational research.As the largest early-phase clinical research unit in Singapore, Pfizer is well positioned to leverage and complement our efforts to build up Singapore’s translational and clinical research capabilities.

In closing, I would like to congratulate Pfizer on the official opening of your Singapore Clinical Research Unit.You can be assured of the Singapore Government’s continued strong support for your operations in Singapore, and I am confident that the strong and strategic partnership between Pfizer and Singapore will continue to flourish.

Thank you.