Wednesday, November 01, 2006
[RealEdge] BT : Second phase of Biopolis opens for private labs
| Published October 31, 2006  | |||
| Second phase of Biopolis opens for private labs More space needed for 'bench-to bedside' medicine, says A*Star head
By CONRAD TAN
THE second phase of the high-tech Biopolis research park at Buona Vista was launched yesterday, to make room for further expansion of privately funded biomedical research.
Completed in just 18 months at a cost of around $70 million, the 37,000 sq m complex consists of two seven-storey buildings linked by a skybridge. It is expected to house laboratories funded by private research companies focused on developing new drugs and treatments. The complex was built by business park developer Ascendas, a subsidiary of JTC Corp, which is responsible for the development of Biopolis. Yesterday, Ascendas said it is in discussions with prospective tenants - including pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Bayer, and US biotech firm Codexis - for the new complex, and is 'confident of achieving 70 per cent occupancy very shortly'. The Singapore Immunology Network, which was formed last year to coordinate research into the human immune system, has confirmed that it will be setting up labs in the complex. The neighbouring Biopolis Phase I - a $500 million complex of seven interlinked buildings spread over an area of 185,000 sq m, which was completed in 2004 - already houses private research labs such as GSK's Centre for Research in Cognitive and Neurodegenerative Disorders and the Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases. It is 97 per cent occupied, with five of the seven buildings taken up by biomedical research units under the government research agency A*Star. 'This co-location of private and public research laboratories encourages the synergy of scientific ideas and facilitates cross-disciplinary collaborative research,' said A*Star chairman Philip Yeo at yesterday's launch ceremony. He added that the additional space for private sector research provided by the new complex was 'especially crucial' as Singapore moves towards translational or 'bench-to bedside' medicine - the branch of medical research that attempts to turn discoveries made by scientists in the lab into medical treatments for patients. 'More companies can be expected to undertake drug discovery and development activities in Singapore.' Later, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the chief executive of the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC), Colin Blakemore, that will see A*Star research students offered internships and postgraduate training at MRC-funded labs in the UK. Prof Blakemore also chairs an advisory committee with a team of scientists who will study the state of neuroscience research here and recommend areas for further public investment. | |||
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