SPEECH BY MR S. ISWARAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, AT THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR GENENTECH’S BIOLOGICS MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT TUAS BIOMEDICAL PARK ON 28 JUNE 2007, 9:30 AM

Her Excellency, Patricia Herbold, Ambassador of US,

Mr Philip Yeo, Senior Advisor for Science and Technology and Chairman of Spring Singapore,

Dr Patrick Yang, Executive Vice-President of Product Operations, Genentech,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning.It gives me great pleasure to join you here today for the groundbreaking ceremony of Genentech’s commercial scale biotechnology manufacturing facility at Tuas Biomedical Park.

Today’s event marks a significant milestone in the development of Singapore’s Biomedical Sciences industry. Genentech is the first U.S. multinational biotechnology company to set up manufacturing operations in Singapore.This US$140 million facility will be Singapore’s first microbial-based facility for biotherapeutics.I understand that the plant will employ approximately 100 staff members when it is fully operational.

For those who do not already know, Genentech’s stock ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange is “DNA”.And, if you only have one word to describe what is at the heart of this company, it would have to be “DNA”.Genentech’s name is synonymous with biotechnology.As the founder of the global biotechnology industry, this South San Francisco pioneer is the world’s leading developer of groundbreaking cancer drugs, of which two, namely Avastin and Herceptin, will be manufactured in Singapore.In addition, Genentech’s potential blockbuster Lucentis, a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration, will also be produced in Singapore.On top of its technological breakthroughs, Genentech has been widely recognised as one of the U.S.’ top employers, winning numerous awards for being one of the best companies to work for.

There are three key reasons why this is a strategic investment for Singapore’s fast growing biopharmaceuticals industry:

1. First, we are assured that Genentech, as a top employer, will provide many high value and attractive jobs in Singapore.
2. Second, we know that Genentech, as a technology leader, will manufacture in Singapore products that will be truly cutting-edge and world-class, thus building up our capabilities and track record.
3. And third, as a leading global biopharmaceutical company, Genentech’s significant investment here is a strong endorsement of Singapore as a value‑adding partner to the biomedical sciences industry.

In Singapore, we have a strong track record of establishing ourselves as a sustainable and significant global player in the key industries that we have targeted.This includes the Electronics, Chemicals, Engineering and, more recently, the Biomedical Sciences sectors.

When the Biomedical Sciences was identified as a key industry pillar for Singapore, the government quickly put in place the requisite policies and resources to make Singapore a conducive location for world-class biomedical sciences activities including pharmaceutical manufacturing. Today Singapore is host to 8 of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies that have cumulatively set up 24 chemical-based pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities here.

Although the biologics manufacturing industry is still relatively new in Singapore, we are confident that it will grow into another key industry sector where we will have a significant global position.Already, within a short span of less than two years, we have witnessed the announcement of four commercial-scale biologics manufacturing investments in Singapore. These four investments are: GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals’ vaccine facility, Lonza’s two mammalian cell culture facilities, and, of course, the Genentech microbial facility for which we are breaking ground today.

We have embarked on three major initiatives – pertaining to the development of manpower, capability and engineering support – to optimally position Singapore for this growth industry.First and foremost, we recognise that the availability of skilled manpower is a critical success factor for biologics manufacturing.Consequently, we have invested heavily in training to increase and upgrade the pool of skilled manpower in this area. In particular:

a.We have enhanced the in-curricula training of our tertiary education institutions with industry inputs.In this regard, our universities and polytechnics, working in close consultation with the industry, will be adding specialised modules on biologics manufacturing, including basic hands-on components, into the curriculum of their relevant degree and diploma courses;

b.We also provide funding support for trainees to get hands-on experience at biologics facilities overseas, through EDB’s Strategic Training and Attachment programme.To date, we have sent approximately 250 trainees to our training partners’ facilities worldwide, including Genentech’s operations in South San Francisco.

Second, Singapore has built up capabilities in bioprocess research to ensure the long term sustainability of the biologics manufacturing base here.The Bioprocessing Technology Institute, or BTI, was set up as a Research Institute under the Agency for Science and Technology in 2003 and is well positioned to be a strategic research partner for the industry. BTI has built up capabilities in key areas such as expression engineering, animal cell technology and downstream processing and analytics.Companies can work with BTI to enhance and improve their biotechnology manufacturing processes in Singapore.

And third, Singapore has attracted a substantial base of engineering companies with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.More than half of the top 40 global engineering design companies and nine out of the top 10 process control companies have established sizeable operations in Singapore, which include regional headquarters and technical centres of competence.These companies will be able to provide strong engineering support for the biologics manufacturing investments in Singapore.

We are confident that these initiatives will put us in good stead to support the wave of biotechnology manufacturing investments in Singapore, and we look forward to many other industry players emulating the lead of Genetech by coming to our shores.

I would like to wish the management and staff of Genentech every success and we look forward to a long, close and fruitful collaboration with Genentech.Thank you.