Over
recent years, Singapore's emerging biomedical industry has been creating
buzz worldwide as she scouts and attracts talent to the plethora of
opportunities available here in the Biopolis.
In Philadelphia this summer,
students from the NUS Overseas College in Biovalley put forth their
inaugural bio-conference "Singapore- A Biomedical Hub" to provide
a comprehensive introduction of the industry.
Held on 18 October 2007
at the University of Pennsylvania, renowned industry experts were invited
as speakers to grace this event. The panel consisted of Ms Cindy
Koh, director of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) Washington
D.C, Dr. Robert Yuan (Ph.d, Albert Einstein College of Medicine) and
Dr. Yap Kok Wei (President of the Gleneagles CRC Group), just to name
a few.
While
the Economic Development Board presented an overview on the Biomedical
Sciences industry in Singapore, fellow panel speakers further reiterated
the nation's perks by drawing from their personal experiences. For
instance, Dr. Yuan, who has conducted several studies on the role of
biotechnology in economic development, referred to Asia as "definitely
not a market to be missed." He commended the Government's foresight
for growing the Biomedical Sciences industry, but felt that that the
lack of entrepreneurship and small pool of researchers could serve as
a hindrance.
Doctor Yap, Director of Gleneagles Clinical Research also
cited Singapore's efficiency and supportive regulatory structure as
being a key success element in improving the efficiency of conducting
clinical trials.
The
event was considered an overwhelming success as it drew a wide variety
of participants of diverse nationalities such as Japan, America, Russia,
Belgium and Argentina. After the conference, participants had nothing
but praise for the smooth running of the event.
Joe D' Silva, CEO
of Patients' and Consumers' Pharma, "found the evening to be both
enjoyable and productive". Indeed, most participants came to seek
information on how to launch their businesses in Singapore. During the
Q&A section, several questions pertaining to manufacturing costs/facilities
and venture capital funds were raised.
Of
course, the success of the event would not have been possible without
the opportunity provided by the NOC program. Along the way, the team
had to deal with the challenges of organizing a conference with limited
resources and industry knowledge.
However, they succeeded eventually
through teamwork, determination and innovation while meeting pressing
deadlines. When asked what was the most important lesson learnt from
this event, Shamantha Yan, Vice President of the organizing committee,
put it succinctly, "Anything is possible if you keep on believing
and working towards your goal. The challenge is in overcoming negativities".
Spoken like a true budding entrepreneur indeed. hooked
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