Speech by MOS Alvin Tan at the Opening of BioSyngen's Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Facility

Ms Joan Zhang

Chairman of BioSyngen Board

President of ABC Capital

Professor Benjamin Seet

BioSyngen Board Director

Deputy Group CEO of National Healthcare Group

Ms Lily Peng

Deputy Party Secretary, Knowledge City (Guangzhou) Investment Group

Introduction

1. Good morning.

2. Thank you for having me for the opening of your Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified facility. At 1,500sqm, this will be one of the largest private-operated GMP facilities in Singapore and compliant with the latest GMP standards. Congrats BioSyngen for this achievement.

Growth of biomanufacturing capabilities in Singapore

3. As part of Singapore’s Manufacturing 2030 vision, we aim to develop Singapore into a global business, innovation and talent hub for advanced manufacturing.

4. The biomedical cluster is integral to this vision.

a. Since 2020, the value-add of pharmaceutical & biological products has increased by 14%.

b. The industry continually adapts to rapidly evolving trends and tech to stay cutting-edge globally.

c. Throughout COVID-19, biomedical cluster continued to grow significantly, attracting substantial investments and venture funding activities.

5. Happy to be home to many local and global biomedical companies. These companies have chosen to base out of Singapore for many reasons.

- our deep pool of skilled talent

- thriving research ecosystem

- excellent connectivity to the Asian market and the world

6. We have not rested on our laurels. With evolution of drugs and treatments, we continue to look ahead for novel technologies and opportunities.

a. Not unfamiliar to everyone here, biologics and vaccine manufacturing played a critical role in managing COVID-19 pandemic. They continue to be important in preventing severe diseases and saving lives.

b. As such, we have set up the Biologics Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (BioPIPS), where global pharma companies and our researchers partner to increase our biomedical manufacturing capabilities, including the ability to produce vaccine and recombinant therapeutic proteins.

Capturing Opportunities to be a Leader in Cell Therapy

7. Traditional approaches to treatment, such as medicine and surgery, have greatly improved the lives of people. But there remain many conditions and diseases which are still looking for a cure.

8. “Living drugs” in the form of cell therapies have potential to re-engineer the human body, modulate our immunity and cure diseases. Globally, the cell therapy market is expected to grow exponentially to ~US$45B by 2030.

9. Cell therapy will revolutionise medicine, but challenges remain. It is labour intensive and faces bottlenecks such as ensuring uniformity during production.

10. We have begun our journey to chip away at these hurdles.

a. We set up the Singapore Cell Therapy Advanced Manufacturing Programme (STAMP) to tackle these challenges and support the efficient manufacturing of off-the-shelf and personalised cell therapy solutions.

b. We also set up the Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS) to support biotech startups through their discovery, process development and manufacturing of cellular-based therapeutics. ACTRIS also works with local hospitals, research institutes and pharmaceutical companies to facilitate development of the cell therapy ecosystem.

BioSyngen’s contribution to the biotech ecosystem

11. Today’s opening of BioSyngen’s state-of-the-art facility clearly reflects how our local biotech ecosystem has grown, with more of our homegrown biomedical companies building GMP manufacturing capabilities as they scale up and move on to clinical trials.

12. As BioSyngen grows from strength to strength, it has been contributing to the local ecosystem.

a. For example, BioSyngen signed a Joint-Lab agreement with A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network to discover therapeutics to treat solid tumours such as ovarian cancer.

b. In this new facility, BioSyngen will create jobs in research and development roles, with expertise in areas such as cell therapy research, clinical operations, GMP manufacturing, and quality assurance.

c. I understand that there are also plans to collaborate and bring an A*STAR cell therapy asset into clinic for the treatment of liver cancer using this facility.

Conclusion

13. With these efforts, Singapore is on track to be a world-class regional hub for cell and gene therapy that achieves research and clinical translational excellence to deliver better healthcare outcomes.

14. We are proud of what BioSyngen has achieved so far. Once again, congrats BioSyngen on the launch of your facility. This is a step forward in bringing hope and cures to patients all around the world.