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25 November 2002
Speech by Mr Philip Yeo, Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology And Research and Co-Chairman, Economic Development Board at the Official Opening Ceremony of Pharmalogicals Research Pte Ltd
Mr Osamu Nagayama, President, Chugai Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd
Dr Norikazu Tamaoki, Deputy Director, Central Institute for Experimental Animals
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Afternoon.
- It gives me great pleasure to join you this afternoon for the official opening of PharmaLogicals Research Pte Ltd.
PharmaLogicals - Unique Partnership between three companies
- I am delighted to welcome the setting up of PharmaLogicals in Singapore because it is a unique three-way partnership between Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Mitsui & Co and the Central Institute for Experimental Animals (CIEA).
- Chugai is a leading pharmaceutical company in Japan. Its recent merger with Roche, is reflective of the vision and global mindset of President Nagayama and his management team.
- Mitsui is a leading Japanese trading house which in recent years, has made investments into the biomedical sciences. Last year, Mitsui established the genomic research company, Agenica Research Pte Ltd in a joint venture with our National Cancer Centre (NCC).
- CIEA, is a leading R&D centre in Japan developing humanised mouse disease models for biomedical research. The use of such disease models helps scientists to improve their understanding of disease pathways and to identify better drug candidates for clinical development.
- PharmaLogicals can leverage on the strengths of the three partners to develop therapeutics and diagnostics for Asian hormonal and immunological diseases, such as cancer and kidney disease. Its presence here today is testimony to Singapore's growing attractiveness as a location for corporate Biomedical Sciences R&D.
Japan - Singapore partnership
- PharmaLogicals can tap into the research capabilities of our academic and medical institutions. Partnerships between companies, biomedical research organisations and academia, can be a key success factor in the Biomedical Sciences in Singapore.
- PharmaLogicals can help to stimulate and foster interaction and collaborations between Biomedical Sciences researchers and companies in Singapore and Japan. Our two countries already have been working closely together here. To-date, three Japan-Singapore symposia have been held on Biomedical Sciences, involving scientists and clinicians from the universities, hospitals and research institutes in both countries. Further, Singapore is now home to Professor Yoshaiki Ito and his team, whose focus is on cancer research.
- We are seeing increased Japanese interests in commercialising research and technologies developed in Singapore. This includes the set-up of Agenica Research at the National Cancer Centre to commercialise work on breast cancer genomics, as well as marketing and distribution of bioinformatics software developed by local start-up KooPrime.
- For these reasons and more, Singapore gladly welcomes PharmaLogicals into our Biomedical Sciences community. We look forward to a strong, prosperous and longstanding partnership with you.
- I would like to congratulate the management and staff of PharmaLogicals on its official opening and wish them great success in their endeavour. Thank you.
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