I have been looking forward to this groundbreaking ceremony of the BioPolis because it symbolises the opening of a new frontier in Singapore.

We are going through a difficult period. The third quarter economic results showed that our economy contracted by 5.6 percent compared to a year ago. The contraction in the last three quarters was the steepest decline that Singapore has experienced since independence. We expect the fourth quarter to be worse.

While tackling the immediate downturn, we must also address the economic challenges facing us in the next 5 to 10 years. Under the Chairmanship of DPM Lee Hsien Loong, the new Economic Committee, announced by PM Goh recently, will take a hard look at all existing government policies and assumptions.

Although manufacturing will continue to be a major pillar of Singapore’s economy, we must give greater emphasis to high-value, knowledge-intensive activities. We must broaden and diversify our economic base to nurture new value-added clusters and activities. Research and development, product design and marketing will all become more important.

A new sector that we have been promoting aggressively in the last year, with Mr Philip Yeo leading the charge, and about which we have already made some progress, is the Biomedical Sciences. Our vision is to make Singapore an advanced Biomedical Sciences hub with world-class capabilities across the entire value chain from basic research to health care delivery.

In our efforts to realise this vision, we are leaving no stone unturned. In the Biomedical Sciences Executive Committee, all relevant public sector agencies are represented including EDB, NSTB, JTC, Health, Education and Law.

The Committee is advised by an International Advisory Council (IAC), comprising 14 world-renowned scientific leaders from the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, France and Australia. The IAC is helping us chart our way forward in the Biomedical Sciences. It has already met three times in the past eighteen months. Some of the initiatives recommended by the IAC include the establishment of new institutes and infrastructure facilities like the Genome Institute of Singapore, the Bioinformatics Institute and the Singapore Tissue Network. The IAC also recommended the organisation of the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) under NSTB, the merger of IMCB and IMA with a clear Biomedical focus, and changes to the school curriculum at various levels to prepare young Singaporeans for the Life Sciences revolution.

Underlying all our efforts in the Biomedical Sciences cluster is human capital development. We need a big pool of talent for this knowledge-intensive industry to take off. The manpower that we train must be of the right quality and be equipped with the right knowledge.

The education curriculums in our schools and tertiary institutions have been restructured to incorporate the New Biology. In July this year, NSTB launched an aggressive S$500 million National Science Scholarships programme to nurture local research talent for science and technology with particular emphasis on the Biomedical Sciences. This comprehensive Scholarship Programme provides opportunities for bright young Singaporeans to pursue graduate and post-graduate training both at home and abroad.

We must create a stronger buzz in our local research scene as research is after all key to the development of the Biomedical Sciences industry. It is the responsibility of BMRC to coordinate and support excellent, cutting-edge biomedical research in the public sector. With a 5-year budget of more than S$1 billion, BMRC will play a key role in building up our public research capabilities in the universities, research institutes and hospitals. Recently a Technology Transfer Office was established to help scientists with promising ideas or inventions extract value from their work. The office provides advice on intellectual property and various aspects of commercialisation.

To complement our public research initiatives, an additional S$1 billion has been allocated to EDB for the support of R&D activities undertaken by leading companies in Singapore. Since the programme was launched in July last year, two pharmaceutical companies have announced major R&D projects for Singapore. Eli Lilly’s Systems Biology Centre will focus on systems biology research while the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases will do work on dengue and tuberculosis.

EDB will continue to promote Singapore strongly to leading international companies in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and health care services. EDB and NSTB will help to create a thriving ecosystem for a whole range of Life Sciences activities in Singapore for both large and small companies.

In recent years, Multinationals like GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, Schering Plough, Aventis, American Home Products, Siemens, Baxter and Becton Dickinson have all made Singapore their global manufacturing hub. Singapore is also a regional clinical development centre for many of these companies because of our clinical research capabilities. Other objective is to make Singapore an ideal site for research and development activities. We are building up both the public research infrastructure and the financial infrastructure for venture capital and other sources of funding.

We also need good physical infrastructure. Hence the BioPolis.

For us to become a world-class centre for Biomedical Sciences R&D, we must have good facilities to attract companies and individuals to Singapore. To be built by JTC, the BioPolis will be the first major development in the Science Hub, now called One North. It will house a full spectrum of Biomedical Sciences R&D activities, including basic drug discovery research, clinical research and medical devices research.

The BioPolis will foster strong interaction between public research institutes and Biomedical Sciences companies. Tenants of the BioPolis will have access to shared facilities and services including laboratories, business development offices, incubator units and other amenities.

The BioPolis will provide a conducive work environment for 2,000 scientists and professionals. Spread over 8 hectares, seven architecturally-interesting buildings linked together will be completed in phases from June 2003. Positioned as a research campus within an urban park, the BioPolis will blend with the natural topography of the site and incorporate water features amidst extensive greenery. The concept is "work, live, play and learn" in One North. The entire area will be designed and organised for human interaction. Attractive housing will be integrated into the overall development.

The Biomedical Sciences will be an exciting new frontier for us in Singapore. With the completion of the BioPolis in 2 years’ time, Singapore will have one of the most conducive and integrated environments in the world for the Biomedical Sciences.

I wish the staff of JTC, EDB and NSTB, and many others who have contributed to the planning and development of the BioPolis, great success.