A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) and GSK Biologicals SA Belgium have recently sealed an agreement to collaborate in three vaccine and adjuvant system related research projects. This partnership aims to bring new approaches to vaccine development and production.

With biologics becoming increasingly profitable with growth in sales doubling that of traditional pharmaceuticals, BTI’s work on characterizing recombinant vaccine protein production could lead to the design of high-yield and cost-effective strategies for GSK’s biologics manufacturing plants.

Leveraging on BTI’s expertise in bioprocessing and GSK’s capabilities in biologics, both parties are equally optimistic and excited about this partnership.

“We are very pleased to be working with BTI. Their expertise on bioprocessing technologies made it a good choice as a partner in conducting cutting-edge vaccine development research. This complements our R&D based-approach in vaccine development and manufacturing. ”

-Dr Jean-Paul Prieels, Senior VP R&D, GSK Biologicals SA

“This is the first time we have established a major partnership with GSK, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. It marks the fruition of BTI’s efforts in building bioprocessing expertise and it augurs well for our research institute….”

-Prof. Miranda Yap, Executive Director, BTI

Aren’t we glad to hear about such a strategic partnership with GSK?  ( I am sure Prof. Miranda Yap isn’t the only one cheering over this piece of good news)

In this gloomy economic environment, GSK’s substantial commitment to the collaboration speaks of confidence in the work done at BTI. Speaking from an undergraduate’s point of view, anybody concerned about Singapore’s BMS Industry would be reassured that our government institutes are performing well and hopefully, this puts BTI even higher on the international stage. We hope that this partnership will set as a first for many more to come from other leading pharmaceutical MNCs. Ultimately, what are we all looking out for? Job creation, that is.

To know more about the the work done in BTI, check out our later posts. We will also be covering exciting opportunities in BTI for those interested in bioprocessing.

Image: Flickr/Flu Shot