Staffing Singapore's Life Sciences Revolution

Singapore has firmly set its sights on becoming the life sciences hub for the Asia-Pacific region. It's an enormous challenge. But, as Nick Stephens explains, they have the will, the plan and the funds to build and develop it. All they need now are the people to turn their vision into reality.

Singapore has four key goals. It wants to build a strong science operation that can create and develop intellectual property, which it can turn into commercial healthcare products. It is keen to strengthen its position as the centre for pharmaceutical operations in the region. It plans to move its low-cost manufacturing base from high-tech products to biotech products. It also wants to produce the executives of the future.

The country's decision to add life sciences development to its acknowledges strength in high tech manufacturing to is a clever move. Two thirds of the world's population lies within a short flight of its shores. The government has a strong tradition of nurturing and sponsoring home-grown industry, working very much like a commercial organisation.

But the expertise needed in life sciences is very different to Singapore's previous industrial capability. The main difference is timing. Building a life sciences operation is a long-term process and the results won't come on stream for many years. So it will take a new mindset to get to grips with the timescales and failure rates within life sciences development.

It's hard to over-estimate the looming life sciences transformation already underway. Currently 80 per cent of pharma profits come from the US. In 15 to 20 years, this is set to reverse as:

• profits shift to Asia-Pacific
• pharma companies invest in lower-cost environments to maintain profits
• those regions become more affluent.

Opportunities

Singapore has the funds. It is one of the world's largest oil refiners, it has the third largest container port, and it has enormous cash reserves. The country has been very public about its intentions to become the hub for life sciences in the region. It wants this to work and Singapore does not "do" failure.

Singapore will also increase its potential if it can take advantage of the expected boom in biologicals. Already, GSK are planning a new biological facility in Singapore. There are opportunities for infectious disease vaccines and metabolic medicine. Type two diabetes is reportedly out of control in the region, with the World Health Organization predicting it will soon outstrip HIV/AIDS.

One of the big attractions for Europe is Singapore's western approach to business. Pharma companies can be confident in using Singapore for their HQs. They will be able to guarantee the quality of their data and products. If you are going to shift huge amounts of your investment, you need to be sure that:

• the data and products will be up to scratch
• the people on the ground who say they are going to deliver actually do.

Singapore has already proved that this will be the case.

There are some obvious challenges. For instance, the first Singapore PhDs in life sciences only graduated four years ago. Our estimate is that over the next 5 years Singapore will need around 10,000 people to support its life sciences industry. Initial recruitment will be through a mix of talent imported primarily from Europe, Australia, Japan and possibly the US. Later, local people can gain the experience and training they need to lead their companies. The most acute challenge will be to find senior and middle management.

So what will it take to persuade people to move to Singapore? Making the transition will be easy. Of the population of 4.3 million, 800,000 are ex-pats. They already enjoy a good climate and life-style. Housing is not a problem and the international schools are excellent. Most important of all, Singapore will be at the forefront of scientific research.

Companies will rightly expect a lot from their recruitment partner. They will want a partner with global experience and a track record of building organisations from the ground up. Ideally companies will go for the cascade approach - install the top echelon and then work down. But sometimes they will need to carry out the recruitment process more quickly.

One key requirement is that if you are going to build a local market, you need to be there on the ground. You can't do this from half-a-world away.

Pharma companies will also be keen to ensure that salaries don't escalate out of control. It's likely that this will be a proviso for any recruitment company involved. They will want to avoid a familiar scenario. Someone makes the move. They are then in demand. They quickly switch jobs to gain a higher salary. Then they move again and the pattern continues to the point where they are earning more than their boss's boss. By jacking up the salaries, the rationale for sending people there in the first place – to push the cost base down – is lost. Salary escalation destroys competitive advantage.

But, while it sees itself as the new life sciences regional centre, Singapore also recognises there isn't enough local talent to support its ambitions, not yet anyway. It also knows that, with its relatively small population of 4.3 million, it can't compete in phase III clinical research. Its approach, therefore, is to become a safe haven for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to build their regional headquarters.

Singapore is adopting the "queen bee" approach to building its basic research base to encourage the life sciences industry – bringing in some key international players on the basis that others will be prepared to follow. The driving force behind the whole operation has been Philip Yeo, who was the chair of A*STAR research institutes. Singapore has been keen to promote the international stars it has attracted so far and the big hitters include:

• Professor David Lane, & Professor Birgitte Lane, at the Centre for Molecular Medicine
• Professor Philippe Kourilsky at the Singapore Immunology Network
• Professor Edward Holmes at the BMRC Clinical-Translational Sciences
• Professor Sir George Radda at the Singapore Imaging Consortium
• Professor Judith Swain at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences.

Ideally placed between China and India, Singapore is poised to transform the life sciences world. If they get the right people, they'll achieve their aim.

I went out there to see whether we should open up an office in the region. At the end of my first day, my question was not "if?" but "when?". By day two the status had changed; the question wasn't when - it was as soon as possible. And by day three I was pondering whether I should move my family out there and open our regional office myself.

Nick Stephens is CEO of RSA

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