Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology

Singapore’s deep base of skilled talent, strong manufacturing capabilities and thriving research ecosystem have drawn pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to set up here to serve patients from around the globe, and connect with the growing Asian market.

A Growing Industry

Photo credit: JTC Corporation

Leading commercial hub

As a leading biomedical sciences hub at the heart of Asia, Singapore is the choice location for companies to develop and produce new products that better meet Asia’s healthcare needs. Companies benefit from our pro-business environment, infrastructure, talent and innovation ecosystem, as well as our proximity to the rest of Asia.

Companies like GSK, MSD and Roche have based a range of commercial activities, including Supply Chain Management, Regulatory Affairs and Medical Affairs in Singapore.

World-class manufacturing capabilities

Singapore is a leading location for best-in-class manufacturing plants, where innovative products are launched and produced. Industry leaders like Pfizer, Novartis, MSD, Sanofi, AbbVie and Amgen have global manufacturing hubs in Singapore for a wide range of products including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, drug products and biologics drug substances. To enhance the competitiveness of the pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in Singapore, we have also partnered the industry to develop training programmes for both established drugs and new modalities, as well as establish the Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (PIPS) consortium to push the envelope on new manufacturing technologies.

In the last 30 years, there have been no major observations by regulators like the FDA who regularly audit local facilities. This speaks to the quality and reliability of our infrastructure and workforce, boosting pharmaceutical investors’ confidence to expand their operations.

Innovation ecosystem

Our extensive and integrated research ecosystem continues to deliver impact and value to pharmaceutical companies. Here, firms can forge partnerships with key opinion leaders, institutes, as well as clinical and contract research organisations to rapidly advance pipeline assets.

Human Health and Potential is one of the four strategic domains under the S$25 billion in funding that Singapore has committed to public sector research.

As drug discovery and development models continue to evolve amid productivity challenges for in-house R&D, globally leading pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson are establishing external innovation teams in Singapore to partner emerging biotechs to bring innovative therapies to market faster.

At a Glance

>3x

of the pharmaceutical sector’s manufacturing output produced today since 2000. In 2022, the sector produced more than S$19 billion worth of products for global markets¹.

>9,000

people in the skilled workforce employed in the biopharmaceutical sector², more than double since the early 2000s.

of the top 5 pharmaceutical companies by global revenue have manufacturing facilities in Singapore.