In the recent years, Asia has presented itself as a fresh, emerging player in the biomedical science industry. As a cosmopolitan city in Asia, Singapore is aiming to take her fair share in the limelight of this industry, particularly in the field of translational research.

Singapore is ambitious about carving out its niche in the field of biomedical research and development. With this greater aim in mind, Singapore Biomedical Sciences (BMS) initiative was launched in June 2005 to develop the Biomedical Science cluster in as one of the key pillars of Singapore’s economy. The first phase of development (2000 – 2005) emphasized on establishing a firm foundation of basic biomedical research in Singapore . It was smoothly completed, and is currently proceeding with S$1.4bn second phase. This second phase is energized towards strengthening capabilities in translational and clinical research, which are essential to translate basic discoveries in the lab into clinical applications to improve human health care. This phase includes areas such as imaging, animal testing and clinical trial facilities, as these are one of Singapore’s niche area . This will bridge the gap between bench and bedside.

As highlighted by Keat-Chuan Yeoh, executive director of Biomedical Sciences for the Singapore Economic Development Board, “Over the next five years we (Singapore) hope to be number one in the region for translational research.”

Having a rich talent pool is definitely necessary to be in parallel with the high hopes in this industry. Hence, Ministry of Health and A*Star initiated Singapore Translational Research Investigator Award (STaR) . STaR award aims to recruit and nurture world-class clinician scientists to undertake cutting edge translational and clinical research in Singapore.

Year 2009 will be another year full of uncertainty and changes, as the nation is faced with looming recession. However, the impact of the economic slowdown is yet to impact the R&D sector at large. Biomedical science industry (or any R&D of interest) requires long-term investments, and hence, one can expect the route to become more challenging ahead but not a washout period.

Image: Flickr/it’s going to be one of those kinds of weekends