Singapore Biopolis

Singapore Biopolis

Any biopharma company looking for a lot of help for drug development would do well to look closely at Singapore. Grants are available for R&D projects and technology training. Lower corporate taxes and even full tax exemption are available to the biopharma industry because it's considered a strategically important industry in the city-state. There's also an investment allowance to help pay for new technology.

Tenants have all but filled Singapore's Phase I development of 2 million sq. ft. of research and development space.

Bio*One Capital operates four life sciences funds with a $1.2 billion portfolio. Bio*One also operates a separate group that offers seed funding and early-stage development funds that will dispatch scientists and entrepreneurs to help new managers grow their businesses. The Singapore Economic Development Board can match third-party investments in early-stage operations dollar for dollar, up to $300,000. Investments ranging from $250,000 to $2 million in equity and convertible loans don't hurt.

These are all good reasons why Singapore's Biopolis has been booming. Tenants have all but filled its Phase I development of 2 million sq. ft. of research and development space, and builders have broken ground on Phase II--400,000 sq. ft. of space for biopharma activities. That activity has drawn a lot of the big pharma companies--GSK, for example, recently started building a $115 million pilot plant for experimental drugs--but the tiny country may also prove a haven for smaller companies as well.