GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, has opened its new Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory at its research and development facility in Singapore's biomedical research hub, Biopolis.

GSK has invested an additional US $20 million in their Centre for Research in cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders for the construction of a medicinal chemistry laboratory and a near doubling of the number of researchers.

"This new investment in GSK's research and development facility will enhance our drug discovery capabilities in Singapore. Our goal is to identify a clinical development candidate by the end of 2007 and we are on track to achieving that. The key drivers for GSK investing in Singapore are the quality of the research base and our access to high quality graduates and researchers. GSK has chosen to increase our presence in Singapore because we are very pleased with our progress to date, and this investment reflects our confidence in the local biomedical research sector," said Dr. Paul Chapman, director and head of GSK's Centre for Research in Cognitive and Neurodegenerative Disorders.

GSK aims to double the number of researchers hired to almost 60, with half of them locally sourced. The new facility enables researchers to adopt a collaborative approach that is at the cutting edge of work practices at GSK research and development facilities around the world. The new flexi-laboratory combines both biology research and chemistry research in the same facility; the workbenches are modular, and can be configured to adapt to different experiments, needs and uses. Biology and chemistry research is typically done in separate laboratories because there are different considerations for each discipline. By having the biologists and chemists working side-by-side, we hope to reduce the time taken to identify clinical development drug candidates.

Dr Neil Miller, Director of Medicinal Chemistry, said, "The adaptability of local researchers makes Singapore a competitive location for innovative approaches to drug discovery. This new investment will give us the capabilities to design and develop compounds for selection in clinical trials in the next few years that will be born and raised in Singapore."

The Centre for Research in Cognitive and Neurodegenerative Disorders was opened in 2004, GSK's first pre-clinical research facility within Asia Pacific. The focus of the Center's research is on developing new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and Schizophrenia. GSK is currently collaborating with the National University of Singapore and the Singapore BioImaging Consortium on various aspects of drug discovery.

GSK's investment in Singapore includes manufacturing, research and development, and sales and marketing. Singapore is also the headquarters of GSK's Asia-Pacific operations.