With the increasing attention of the global pharmaceutical market on Asia and the new dynamic shift of the industry towards outsourcing of drug development and manufacturing activities, there is a greater demand for international and regional suppliers who are specialized in pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.

As pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies seek to achieve greater efficiencies while maintaining the highest standards of quality,Singapore proves to be a strategic partner to develop innovative manufacturing solutions and pioneer manufacturing excellence.

INTERPHEX Asia is an ideal platform which showcases the latest technologies and expertise to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry players in Asia. This dedicated sourcing platform for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry to meet and seek new opportunities and partnerships, exchange ideas and keep abreast of industry developments in Asia will be held at Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Centre , Singapore from June 7 to 8.

It is a one-stop platform for international and regional suppliers to establish and grow their foothold to cater to the developing and upcoming drug development and manufacturing activities by multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers in Asia.

About 102 International and regional suppliers of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, services and products from 19 countries will showcase a wide variety of equipment, products and services related to the pharmaceutical manufacturing processes at the two - day exhibition.

Exhibitors in the event consist of international and regional suppliers of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, services and products including: analytical equipment & services,automation and IT systems, biopharmaceutical/ biotechnology,bioinformatics, cleanroom equipment & supplies, CROs, outsource service providers, environmental services, instruments and controls , labelling, coding and marking,packaging systems & materials, plant engineering and maintenance, QA/QC systems and services, raw materials/ ingredients, validation and compliance support, logistics - warehousing and distribution.

Targeted visitors include industry professionals from laboratory management, packaging engineering, process engineering, procurement, production, project management, quality assurance / control, research & development, regulatory affairs, validation, warehousing & logistics.

Over 1,000 pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing professionals and conference delegates from 23 countries attended INTERPHEX Asia 2009 and had the opportunity to see the products with new cutting edge services and technology.

As the centre of gravity for the global pharmaceutical industry is fast shifting to Asia, many multinational pharmaceutical companies are building up their presence in Asia.

In a 2009 survey report by PricewaterhouseCoopers¹ in which they interviewed 185 multinational (MNC) and domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing companies across nine territories, 55 per cent of the MNCs and 62 per cent of the domestic companies believe that Asia will be the centre of gravity for the global pharmaceutical market in the near future. This shifting dynamics is likely to present unprecedented opportunities as well as challenges to the region's existing pharmaceutical manufacturing community and the associated industry.

Global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies that seek to capitalize on Asia's growth story are locating first-in-Asia manufacturing facilities and headquarters offices in Singapore. Fixed asset investments from biomedical companies exceeded US$800 million in 2009.

"Asia's growth presents tremendous opportunities but its diversity also poses challenges. In global companies' foray into Asia, Singapore can help to enhance manufacturing and business excellence to strengthen their foothold in Asia," said Mr. Beh Kian Teik, Director, Biomedical Sciences, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB),the lead government agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore's position as a global business centre and grow the Singapore economy.

"We dream, design and deliver solutions that create value for investors and companies in Singapore. In so doing, we generate economic opportunities and jobs for the people of Singapore and help shape Singapore's economic future" , he adds.

In 2009, Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and Roche opened their first-in-Asia commercial-scale manufacturing plants in Singapore. The growing base of biologics activities also include GSK Biologicals' collaboration with the Bioprocessing Technology Institute , as well as Millipore's launch of its Biomanufacturing Sciences and Training Center. In addition, Lonza has also commenced construction for its first-in-Asia cell therapy manufacturing plant in Singapore.

While Singapore has established its position as a leading site for biologics manufacturing in Asia, it continues to enhance its strong track record in chemical-based active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing.

Leveraging Singapore's advantages as a leading global city and deep biomedical industry base, many global majors have set up regional headquarters in addition to manufacturing and R&D activities to drive business expansion and innovation in Asia. More than 30 leading biomedical sciences companies that include eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies have set up regional headquarters in Singapore.

In 2009 itself , Takeda opened its regional headquarters and regional clinical coordination centre in Singapore, while Quintiles doubled its headquarters facility which includes a new, 13,000 square-foot central laboratory.

Global companies that are partnering Singapore and its growing base of local biomedical sciences companies can also leverage the closer proximity to new markets and partners in Asia.

Singapore presents key advantages for companies that seek to improve R&D productivity and develop innovative medical devices for Asia.