The Singapore-based Biopolis, a purpose-built biomedical R&D hub, is commencing its Phase II of development to accommodate more companies and another 2000 scientists.

The Phase I with two million square feet of space is over 90 per cent occupied. Phase II will start with two new buildings providing an additional 400,000 square feet of space to house the R&D operations of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. More than 2,000 scientists work at the Biopolis currently and this will grow to 4,000 when Phase II is fully completed.

"The overwhelming demand for space at Biopolis leading to the accelerated Phase II development, signals the exponential growth of the biomedical sciences R&D community in Singapore. It bears testimony to Singapore's success in building a world-class R&D environment," said Yeoh Keat Chuan, deputy director, Biomedical Sciences Group of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

"The nucleus of top scientific talent who work at Biopolis, supported by advanced infrastructure and services, is paving the way for world-class drug discovery, clinical development and transnational research activities in Singapore," Yeoh added.

Chong Lit Cheong, CEO of JTC Corporation, the developer of Biopolis, added: "The demand from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for Phase II is expected to be equally high, as companies are attracted by the ability to conduct world-class science in Singapore. We expect more blue chip companies to follow the lead set by heavyweights like GSK, Novartis and the 15 other companies that have established R&D facilities at Biopolis."

The state-of-the-art scientific infrastructure and specialised services at Biopolis include shared facilities for DNA sequencing, proteomics, nuclear magnetic resonance, flow cytometry, x-ray crystallography, histology, confocal microscopy, microarrays and others. As a result, companies are able to cut R&D costs significantly and accelerate product development. In addition, there are centralised laboratory support services including media preparation, lab supplies and glassware washing.

"The Biopolis Shared Facilities (BSF) provide economies of scale and operational efficiencies to the tenants at Biopolis. It is no surprise that we have seen a strong demand for these core scientific services," said professor Ren Ee Chee, director of BSF and deputy director of the Genome Institute of Singapore.