Still strong in Singapore: two decades after making its mark, Singapore remains an epicenter of manufacturing excellence. Here's why.

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Manufacturing output within the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) sector reached $15 billion in 2006, a 30.2% increase over the prior year, according to Singapore's Economic Development Board. (1) Pharmaceuticals accounted for 91% of the total output, while medical technology topped $1.3 billion. Value-added services grew 47% over 2005 and employment expanded by 3.9%. Of the total jobs in the BMS manufacturing sector, 62% are in medical technology.

A growing number of large multinational medical OEMs are locating R & D centers or regional headquarters within Singapore because of its strong IP laws, skilled labor pool and easy access to a variety of emerging consumer markets. Many medical OEMs also outsource within the region. A cluster of EMS providers, including a mix of Tier One and mid-tier providers, drive part of this growth. Medical OEMs have also invested in the region, setting up regional headquarters to better support supply base strategies in lower-cost nations within Asia, including China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Lower-cost labor regions often come with hidden cost tradeoffs in terms of breadth of infrastructure, availability of skilled labor and adherence to regulatory requirements. A key reason Singapore has remained a center for manufacturing excellence for more than two decades is its combination of a legal system based on English Common Law, foreign investment-friendly trade agreements and incentives, strong IP protection and a highly educated workforce. Singaporean suppliers often offer the best of both worlds by sourcing both in low-cost and high-skilled regions, depending on product requirements.

In addition, Singapore's government has long had a track record of listening to the needs of MNCs and designing programs that support their critical infrastructure needs. Within medtech, a number of committees and agencies provide support for research, regulatory policy standardization, workforce training and availability of key technical capabilities.

An example of specific support for the medical device manufacturing community is the Medical Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC), established in 2006. This committee's purpose is to enhance development of new technical capabilities, regulatory policies and infrastructure to support the rapid growth of the medical technology sector in Singapore. The MTAC comprises 19 major medical technology companies involved in manufacturing and R & D.

SPRING Singapore (spring.gov.sg) is a government agency that supports adoption of third-party quality standards, including ISO 13485, IEC 60601, Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Technical References (TR) and Singapore Standards (SS).

Lester Lu is in the Electronics and Precision Engineering Division, International Enterprise Singapore; [e-mail].