New Biomedical Sciences Executive Committee Established to Lead Phase 2 of Singapore's Biomedical Sciences Initiative

01-Aug-2006

Singapore's Biomedical Sciences (BMS) initiative was launched in the middle of year 2000. The first five years have seen much success. Working with other agencies, A*STAR has established the core infrastructure and scientific capabilities for basic biomedical research. It has also put in place important programmes to develop Singapore's Human Capital for research. Parallel to this, EDB Biomedical Sciences Group (BMSG) and Bio*One Capital have helped to attract a growing base of BMS companies to establish R&D operations in Singapore. In addition, the BMS manufacturing sector continues to grow from strength to strength.

Phase 2 (2006-2010) of Singapore's BMS initiative will continue to strengthen our foundation in basic sciences and concurrently add a new focus on the development of capabilities in translational and clinical research, in order to bring discoveries from the "bench" to the "bedside".

To this end, a new Biomedical Sciences Executive Committee (BMS EXCO) has been constituted to lead this effort. The BMS EXCO brings together key agencies such as A*STAR, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Trade & Industry and the Ministry of Education. It will be chaired by A*STAR Chairman, Mr Philip Yeo, and co-chaired by Permanent Secretary (PS) for Health, Ms Yong Ying-I. Three working groups will be established under the BMS EXCO to support this second phase.

The Intellectual Capital Working Group will be chaired by Professor Tan Chorh Chuan (Deputy President and Provost, NUS; and Deputy Chairman BMRC, A*STAR). It will address the issues of developing capabilities, resources and regulatory frameworks to support investigational medicine and clinical trials. It will also identify and establish strategic flagship translational research programmes. In addition, the Working Group will examine how to strengthen health services and public health research in close consultation with MOH.

The Human Capital Working Group will be chaired by Professor John Wong (Dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS) and it will establish a strategy to develop a sustainable cohort of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and scientists with the requisite basic and advanced training to support our efforts in translational and clinical research. The Working Group will also review policies and define mechanisms to accelerate the recruitment and retention of top clinical research talent in Singapore.

The Infrastructure Working Group will be chaired by Mr Philip Yeo and it will identify gaps and strengthen the physical and scientific infrastructure including key technologies needed to support Singapore's BMS efforts.

The newly constituted BMS EXCO will convene its first meeting on 13 August 2006.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/56724/new-biomedical-sciences-executive-committee-established-to-lead-phase-2-of-singapore-s-biomedical-sciences-initiative.html