Speech by SMS Koh Poh Koon at Perkinelmer Site Opening Ceremony

Mr Robert Friel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PerkinElmer

Mr Prahlad Singh, President and Chief Operating Officer, PerkinElmer

Distinguished guests, 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

1. It is my pleasure to join you this morning for the opening of PerkinElmer Life Science Lab Instruments & Diagnostics Manufacturing facility. The fact that Singapore is the largest manufacturing facility for PerkinElmer’s analytical instrumentation is testament to the strong partnership between Singapore and PerkinElmer. 

Singapore is well-positioned as a gateway to Asia for MedTech companies

2. Today, Asia is home to more than half the world’s 4.5 billion population. A rising middle class, aging population and broader awareness of health issues are also contributing to the increasing demand for healthcare. The Asia Pacific MedTech market is expected to hit US$133 billion by 2020, surpassing Europe to become the second-largest MedTech market in the world. 

3. Singapore, with our deep manufacturing capabilities, strong research base and clustering of healthcare innovation activities, is well positioned to harness the growth opportunities in the region. Today, Singapore is home to around 60 leading multinational MedTech firms, and over 240 healthcare start-ups, with capabilities in areas such as digital pathology, diagnostic imaging, and cardiovascular implants. Together, our MedTech manufacturing sector provided about 14,700 jobs and generated S$12.3 billion in total manufacturing output in 2017, and there is scope to do more.

4. The life science tools instruments industry, in particular, is a growing subsector, that sees a strong presence of six out of 10 top global players in Singapore.  PerkinElmer is an excellent example of a leading life science tools company using Singapore as a home base in Asia for complex instrument manufacturing, commercial and R&D functions, and a strategic location to tap into regional growth areas.

Singapore is supporting the MedTech sector in the digital transformation journey

5. With big data and the emergence of digital technologies, we are seeing a growing trend of MedTech companies leveraging their unique advantage to capitalise on digital transformation. As more and more medical devices become digitally connected, MedTech companies are able to collect and deploy insights from these devices to deliver coordinated care. However, improved connectivity also meant that MedTech companies will need to mitigate risks of compromising patient’s privacy and data security. To this end, I am pleased to hear that PerkinElmer is taking active steps by setting up a cyber-security hub in Singapore, which will lead Asia’s cyber incident analysis and response operations.

6. We welcome more companies to use Singapore as a living lab to experiment with new business models or collaborative frameworks for the region and the world. Our ecosystem’s base of design consultancies, data analytics research and cyber security talent can provide companies the capabilities to develop new go-to-market strategies, particularly in Asia. The Government will continue to play an enabler role to facilitate companies in their effort to build new business models around big data and patient-centric care. 

Conclusion

7. In closing, I would like to congratulate PerkinElmer again on the facility expansion and look forward to strengthen PerkinElmer’s operations in Singapore. I am confident that PerkinElmer will continue to bring innovative healthcare products to the market and improve the lives of millions of patients in Asia and around the world. Thank you.