GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Takeda will partner with research communities from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); National University of Singapore (NUS); Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and its innovation and enterprise company, NTUitive; and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to boost Singapore’s biologics manufacturing capabilities.
 
The partnership will be formalized through the Biologics Pharma Innovation Program Singapore (BioPIPS), a consortium initiated by A*STAR with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).
 
BioPIPS aims to use research and innovation to grow Singapore’s manufacturing capabilities for biologics, including recombinant therapeutic proteins, and vaccines. 
 
The consortium will bring together leading industry experts and Singapore’s research ecosystem to enhance manufacturing productivity, improve operational efficiency and achieve sustainability goals. The consortium ultimately aims to make Singapore’s biologics manufacturing capabilities best-in-class and well-positioned for the introduction of new products and novel manufacturing technologies.
 
“New opportunities will emerge as the biomanufacturing industry undergoes major changes brought about by the rapid pace of digitalisation, Industry 4.0, and the need for greater sustainability. As Singapore makes biopharma production a priority area in its Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan, A*STAR aims to contribute our R&D capabilities through BioPIPS to help make the local biomanufacturing industry become more agile and better positioned to benefit from new products and technologies,” said Professor Lim Keng Hui, Assistant Chief Executive, Science and Engineering Research Council, A*STAR.
 
“Riding on the success of PIPS, BioPIPS aims to enhance Singapore’s innovation capabilities in biologics and vaccines manufacturing by leveraging the strengths of our leading pharmaceutical companies and institutes of higher learning. The program will develop highly productive, sustainable and advanced production technologies and solutions. We look forward to deepening partnerships with like-minded companies to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global biopharma manufacturing hub,” said Mr. Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Vice President, EDB.
 
BioPIPS will have three workstreams.
 
The Sensing and Modelling workstream aims to harness machine learning and mechanistic modelling technologies, together with smart sensors, to enable simplified and faster workflows. Data analytics will enable the effective translation of process knowledge gained into performance improvements, which in turn benefits the overall manufacturing process.
 
The Sustainability workstream focuses on tackling sustainability challenges in biologics and vaccines manufacturing, which typically utilizes single-use (disposable) equipment due to the extremely sterile environment needed for product purity. This workstream will explore the use of novel materials and circular economy approaches to address this challenge, as well as models to promote more sustainable and resilient supply chains.
 
The Compliant Agility workstream focuses on the removal of manual tasks to achieve greater productivity in the manufacturing facilities while maintaining compliance status, by using solutions like robotics and advanced analytics.
 
BioPIPS is in line with Singapore’s Manufacturing 2030 vision, which aims to anchor leading manufacturing activities to grow the country’s manufacturing value-add by 50 per cent from 2020. The solutions developed through BioPIPS will also enhance Singapore’s capabilities to meet the growing global demand for biologics and vaccines, as well as equip pharmaceutical companies here with the resources to scale up and respond more rapidly to future pandemics.