In another sign of Singapore's growing role in drug discovery work, GlaxoSmithKline announced that it has invested $13 million in a new laboratory in the city-state that will help seek new therapies to treat Alzheimer's and schizophrenia. The lab, part of Glaxo's Center for Research in Cognitive and Neurodegenerative Disorders, opened Tuesday in Singapore's Biopolis. Glaxo originally invested $62 million in Singapore and had 30 researchers working there two years ago. It now has 57 researchers based in Singapore. Singapore has aggressively invested billions of dollars in its biotech industry, attracting top scientists and emerging drug developers alongside established players like Glaxo.
"This new investment in GSK's research and development facility will enhance our drug discovery capabilities in Singapore. Our goal is to identify a clinical development candidate by the end of 2007 and we are on track to achieving that," director Paul Chapman was quoted as saying in a statement. Singapore has twice made FierceBiotech's annual list of five regions targeting biotech business.
- read the report from the International Herald Tribune