Feature Article

Singapore continues to grow as a regional hub for medical manufacturing. According to Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), as part of Singapore’s biomedical sciences sector, the medical technology industry doubled its manufacturing output from S$1.5 billion in 2000 to about S$3 billion in 2008. Over the same period, its manpower base also doubled from about 4000 to more than 8200 last year. By the year 2015, medtech manufacturing output is forecast to reach S$5 billion.

A global leader in medical technology manufacturing, Singapore accounts for 10% of the world’s contact lens production, half of the world’s thermal cyclers and more than 50% of the world’s microarray production. Other medical products manufactured in Singapore include a variety of medical disposables, infusion pumps, surgical operating microscopes, hearing aids, research instruments, tissue heart valves, catheters, stent delivery devices and medical electronics. EDB statistics show that Singapore has emerged as a choice location in Asia for more than 25 global medical technology companies manufacturing high value-added products. More than 30 leading biomedical sciences companies, including the top 10 global medtech companies, have located their regional and international