Homepage
PR Newswire
03-10-2019, 08:49 AM
Medtech offers booster shot for Singapore's biomed
Major job-creating sector expected to continue growing; 50 regional HQs from leading medtech firms based here
It's been a tough year for the manufacturing sector, but the medical technology sub-sector has had a standout performance so far and is expected to continue to do well on the back of growing demand for high-tech medical equipment in Asia and opportunities brought on by digitalisation. PHOTO: ST FILE
Singapore
IT'S been a tough year for the manufacturing sector, but the medical technology sub-sector has had a standout performance so far and is expected to continue to do well on the back of growing demand for high-tech medical equipment in Asia and opportunities brought on by digitalisation.
One-half of the biomedical manufacturing sector, it is also the more stable component and a larger jobs creator, with demand for talent still growing.
In an exclusive interview with The Business Times, Lim Kok Kiang, EDB's assistant managing director overseeing advanced manufacturing, said the long-term fundamentals continue to be strong for the medtech industry as a whole, despite the current uncertain economic climate that could lead to "unpredictable short-term fluctuations".
"There's no running away from the fact that the Asian economy is continuing to grow and that there's an emerging middle class in this part of the world that will increasingly need more sophisticated products and services," Mr Lim said, adding that the population is also ageing.
Official data shows that in 2018, the medtech sector contributed S$13.3 billion to Singapore's economy, from just S$3.1 billion in 2008. The number of people it employs has also grown by more than 80 per cent over the same period to reach 14,806 in 2018.
The medtech sector expanded 6.7 per cent year-to-date to August, compared with the same period last year. This helped the biomedical manufacturing output which rose 8.7 per cent during the same period. Pharmaceutical manufacturing, the other half of biomed industrial production, also boosted the sector with a 9.4 per cent gain, although the sub-sector tends to be more volatile with some months seeing double-digit growth that can quickly plunge to negative territory.
In the meantime, electronics has been going through a rough patch globally. In Singapore, the sector saw a year-on-year contraction of 7.8 per cent for the first eight months of 2019.
"Singapore's manufacturing sector has quite a diverse base of activities and that's actually very welcome because ultimately, different industries follow different cycles and having a good mix of industries actually allows us to have a more sustainable manufacturing sector," Mr Lim said.
"From that perspective, healthcare and particularly medtech will definitely contribute to that ability for us to continue to have more stable and sustainable growth in manufacturing," he said.
Singapore's vision to make the biomedical industry a key pillar of its economy took shape about two decades ago, when the government began building up its human and industrial capabilities in biomedical research and life sciences. It is one of the reasons the medtech industry has been able to recruit the talent it needs, even as it remains hungry for more.
Recruiter Randstad said it has seen a 50 per cent increase in talent demand within the medtech industry over the last two years, specifically for roles in research and development (R&D), IT and manufacturing.
At hearing-aid maker Sivanto's Singapore headquarters, over 70 per cent of its 1,183 employees are Singaporeans or permanent residents, and the company said 40 per cent of its workforce here are "highly skilled". The company recently merged with Denmark-based hearing aid company Widex to form WS Audiology.
"Among the many strategic reasons for our presence here in Singapore is the availability of talent in the fields that are critical to our market growth in the medtech industry," said Roberto Di Fiore, chief operations officer at WS Audiology.
Over 80 per cent of the 5 million units of hearing aids it manufactures annually come from Singapore, and 70 per cent of its product portfolio are made exclusively here. The products are shipped to 125 countries, with the US, Europe and Japan among its main markets.
Mr Di Fiore said the company's ambition is to continue growing and to "match our growth of the past five years", even though he did not reveal specific numbers.
Another major medtech player here, Boston-headquartered Thermo Fisher Scientific, said it has seen its output here double in the last three years to US$800 million. The company manufactures what it calls "high value add" products in Singapore, and the R&D team here is credited with developing Thermo Fisher's first cloud-enabled instrument to carry out genomic applications.
The company started its operations here in 1996 with just four product lines, including a DNA amplifier which is used in genetic research. Today, more than 10 product lines are made here only.
Ravi Shastri, vice-president and general manager for Thermo Fisher in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, said Singapore is an important base for Asia given its access to the Asean market, which has a population of about 650 million.
While Mr Shastri does not think medtech is immune to slowdowns, he believes prospects for the industry will be good as long as healthcare remains a priority.
"For example, we have a huge business on the environment side, and these (issues) affect everyday life. In Singapore, we've got the haze and whatever the macro situation might be, we'll still focus on breathing good air," Mr Shastri said, in the context of the company's line of air sampler products.
One of the industry's newest entrants, orthopaedic implant maker Syntellix Asia, has hopes of expanding its presence here by some 20 times within five years. This would mean overall investment of some S$200 million with a projected cumulative revenue of S$500 million.
The firm specialises in bioabsorbable bone implants made from a patented magnesium alloy. It launched its Singapore manufacturing plant early last month with plans to capture the Asian market through Singapore.
Speaking to The Business Times, Syntellix founder, CEO and executive chairman Utz Claassen had full praise for Singapore's healthcare infrastructure and its banking and finance system, noting that Singapore has everything one needs to be "entrepreneurially successful" in medtech.
Prof Claassen said: "We thought if Singapore is the top medical service hub in Asia, it should also be our hub for our sales and distribution and production effort in Asia."
EDB data shows that 50 regional headquarters from the world's leading medtech firms are based here, and industry players say as the sector grows, companies here will benefit.
"The more companies come in and invest in Singapore in these end segments, the better it is for us because these are all end markets," Mr Shastri said.
Mr Lim said: "It applies to a bigger horizon as well. Some of them may also choose to work with local partners to supply them parts or components. This whole ecosystem ... is also a part of the value proposition that I think Singapore can provide as well."
Major job-creating sector expected to continue growing; 50 regional HQs from leading medtech firms based here
It's been a tough year for the manufacturing sector, but the medical technology sub-sector has had a standout performance so far and is expected to continue to do well on the back of growing demand for high-tech medical equipment in Asia and opportunities brought on by digitalisation. PHOTO: ST FILE
Singapore
IT'S been a tough year for the manufacturing sector, but the medical technology sub-sector has had a standout performance so far and is expected to continue to do well on the back of growing demand for high-tech medical equipment in Asia and opportunities brought on by digitalisation.
One-half of the biomedical manufacturing sector, it is also the more stable component and a larger jobs creator, with demand for talent still growing.
In an exclusive interview with The Business Times, Lim Kok Kiang, EDB's assistant managing director overseeing advanced manufacturing, said the long-term fundamentals continue to be strong for the medtech industry as a whole, despite the current uncertain economic climate that could lead to "unpredictable short-term fluctuations".
"There's no running away from the fact that the Asian economy is continuing to grow and that there's an emerging middle class in this part of the world that will increasingly need more sophisticated products and services," Mr Lim said, adding that the population is also ageing.
Official data shows that in 2018, the medtech sector contributed S$13.3 billion to Singapore's economy, from just S$3.1 billion in 2008. The number of people it employs has also grown by more than 80 per cent over the same period to reach 14,806 in 2018.
The medtech sector expanded 6.7 per cent year-to-date to August, compared with the same period last year. This helped the biomedical manufacturing output which rose 8.7 per cent during the same period. Pharmaceutical manufacturing, the other half of biomed industrial production, also boosted the sector with a 9.4 per cent gain, although the sub-sector tends to be more volatile with some months seeing double-digit growth that can quickly plunge to negative territory.
In the meantime, electronics has been going through a rough patch globally. In Singapore, the sector saw a year-on-year contraction of 7.8 per cent for the first eight months of 2019.
"Singapore's manufacturing sector has quite a diverse base of activities and that's actually very welcome because ultimately, different industries follow different cycles and having a good mix of industries actually allows us to have a more sustainable manufacturing sector," Mr Lim said.
"From that perspective, healthcare and particularly medtech will definitely contribute to that ability for us to continue to have more stable and sustainable growth in manufacturing," he said.
Singapore's vision to make the biomedical industry a key pillar of its economy took shape about two decades ago, when the government began building up its human and industrial capabilities in biomedical research and life sciences. It is one of the reasons the medtech industry has been able to recruit the talent it needs, even as it remains hungry for more.
Recruiter Randstad said it has seen a 50 per cent increase in talent demand within the medtech industry over the last two years, specifically for roles in research and development (R&D), IT and manufacturing.
At hearing-aid maker Sivanto's Singapore headquarters, over 70 per cent of its 1,183 employees are Singaporeans or permanent residents, and the company said 40 per cent of its workforce here are "highly skilled". The company recently merged with Denmark-based hearing aid company Widex to form WS Audiology.
"Among the many strategic reasons for our presence here in Singapore is the availability of talent in the fields that are critical to our market growth in the medtech industry," said Roberto Di Fiore, chief operations officer at WS Audiology.
Over 80 per cent of the 5 million units of hearing aids it manufactures annually come from Singapore, and 70 per cent of its product portfolio are made exclusively here. The products are shipped to 125 countries, with the US, Europe and Japan among its main markets.
Mr Di Fiore said the company's ambition is to continue growing and to "match our growth of the past five years", even though he did not reveal specific numbers.
Another major medtech player here, Boston-headquartered Thermo Fisher Scientific, said it has seen its output here double in the last three years to US$800 million. The company manufactures what it calls "high value add" products in Singapore, and the R&D team here is credited with developing Thermo Fisher's first cloud-enabled instrument to carry out genomic applications.
The company started its operations here in 1996 with just four product lines, including a DNA amplifier which is used in genetic research. Today, more than 10 product lines are made here only.
Ravi Shastri, vice-president and general manager for Thermo Fisher in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, said Singapore is an important base for Asia given its access to the Asean market, which has a population of about 650 million.
While Mr Shastri does not think medtech is immune to slowdowns, he believes prospects for the industry will be good as long as healthcare remains a priority.
"For example, we have a huge business on the environment side, and these (issues) affect everyday life. In Singapore, we've got the haze and whatever the macro situation might be, we'll still focus on breathing good air," Mr Shastri said, in the context of the company's line of air sampler products.
One of the industry's newest entrants, orthopaedic implant maker Syntellix Asia, has hopes of expanding its presence here by some 20 times within five years. This would mean overall investment of some S$200 million with a projected cumulative revenue of S$500 million.
The firm specialises in bioabsorbable bone implants made from a patented magnesium alloy. It launched its Singapore manufacturing plant early last month with plans to capture the Asian market through Singapore.
Speaking to The Business Times, Syntellix founder, CEO and executive chairman Utz Claassen had full praise for Singapore's healthcare infrastructure and its banking and finance system, noting that Singapore has everything one needs to be "entrepreneurially successful" in medtech.
Prof Claassen said: "We thought if Singapore is the top medical service hub in Asia, it should also be our hub for our sales and distribution and production effort in Asia."
EDB data shows that 50 regional headquarters from the world's leading medtech firms are based here, and industry players say as the sector grows, companies here will benefit.
"The more companies come in and invest in Singapore in these end segments, the better it is for us because these are all end markets," Mr Shastri said.
Mr Lim said: "It applies to a bigger horizon as well. Some of them may also choose to work with local partners to supply them parts or components. This whole ecosystem ... is also a part of the value proposition that I think Singapore can provide as well."
![[Image: ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Fedito...&op=resize]](https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F539637%2Ftest-tubes-with-dna-helix.jpg&w=700&op=resize)
