SPEECH BY MR S. ISWARAN
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY
AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF
THE STMICROELECTRONICS-VEREDUS BIOMEDICAL LABORATORY
ON 24 MARCH 2008, MONDAY, 11.30 AM
AT THE CURIE, SINGAPORESCIENCEPARK I

H.E. Ambassador Dr Folco de Luca Gabrielli of the Embassy of the Republic of Italy

H.E. Ambassador Pierre Buhler of the Embassy of France

Mr Francois Guibert, Corporate VP & CEO Asia Pacific, STMicroelectronics,

Dr Rosemary Tan, CEO, Veredus Laboratories,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning. It gives me great pleasure to join you today for the official opening of the STMicroelectronics-Veredus Biomedical Laboratory.

This laboratory is especially significant as it brings together Veredus Laboratories, a Singapore-born life sciences and molecular diagnostics company, and STMicroelectronics (STM), a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions and the world’s 5th largest semiconductor company. Together, they will collaborate in the development, commercialization and manufacture of diagnostic assays for diseases.

Collaborations between STM and Veredus

The collaboration between STM and Veredus began as early as January 2006, when both companies announced plans to jointly develop a fast, point-of-need diagnostic kit that will enable healthcare practitioners to quickly detect strains of Avian Flu and other influenza viruses.By March 2007, just over a year later, the Avian Flu test on STM’s Lab-on-Chip had entered evaluation trials at the National University Hospital (NUH).

What is significant of the Avian Flu test kit is that it specifically identifies whether a patient is infected with the dreaded Avian Flu virus H5N1 or a subtype of Influenza A or B in a single test. This is as opposed to the multiple, time-consuming tests required previously.This application represents a breakthrough in enabling rapid identification of infectious agents, allowing the spread of the disease to be limited.

The partnership between STM and Veredus has also grown from strength to strength.Both have just launched the market’s first Lab-on-Chip for rapid flu detection at point-of-need.The translational clinical studies conducted jointly with NUH have also yielded outstanding results.

Biomedical Science (BMS) in Singapore

The collaboration between STM, Veredus and NUH is precisely the type of synergy we had hoped to catalyse when the Government embarked on enlarging the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) cluster in 2000.The translational and clinical research required to affirm the products generated by R&D in the BMS cluster would in turn spur innovation in the BMS sector and vice versa in a virtuous cycle.

The BMS cluster, with its capital-intensive manufacturing and high-VA proprietary products, fits well with Singapore’s strengths.The cluster leverages off our stability, skilled workforce and our well-developed and robust Intellectual Property (IP) regime.It creates good jobs and, with a business cycle decoupled from our more established electronics sector, helps to diversify the Singapore economy.

The BMS initiative has surpassed the targets we set.In the last six years, manufacturing output has almost quadrupled in size, with BMS accounting for 5.5 per cent of Singapore’s GDP and over 11,500 jobs in 2007. Singapore has established itself as a highly competitive and trusted site for pharmaceutical bulk activities and secondary manufacturing.

But to fend off ongoing competition from developed centres such as Boston, the Bay Area, Ireland, and Puerto Rico, we intend to continue investing in scientific, industrial and physical infrastructure for the BMS sector.We will also continue building up our talent pool through our educational institutions, re-skill employees through conversion programmes, and support company-level training to meet future demand for manpower in this sector.

Conclusion

With the BMS sector taking off in Singapore, the establishment of the STM-Veredus Biomedical Lab is timely.On this note, let me congratulate the management and staff of STM and Veredus on the official opening of this new facility. Through this lab, STM and Veredus are well positioned to leverage on and complement our efforts to build Singapore’s translational and clinical research capabilities.I wish you every success in your research and innovation activities.

Thank you.