This investment is in line with Singapore's plans to be a medical technology hub in the region.

The global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring recently opened its new state-of-the-art heart valve manufacturing facility in Changi North Crescent to produce the company’s flagship product - the Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT tissue heart valve replacements. This facility earns the double distinction of being Edwards Lifesciences' first such facility in Asia-Pacific, and of being Singapore's first heart valve manufacturing plant.

The opening marks another significant milestone in Edwards Lifesciences' illustrious history, as it celebrates 50 years of developing life-saving medical innovations in partnership with clinicians this year.

"The number of patients being treated for advanced cardiovascular disease is expected to grow, due to the increasing ageing population, and the progressive nature of cardiovascular disease, which worsens over time," says Donald E. Bobo, Jr., Corporate Vice President, Heart Valve Therapy, Edwards Lifesciences. "Our goal is to act as trusted partners with our customers, colleagues and patients, creating a community unified in its mission to improve the quality of life around the world."

To this end, the company's focus is on differentiated, physician-preferred products with leadership potential. "Currently more than 90 per cent of our products are in No. 1 position," he adds. Its global brands, which include CardioVations, Cosgrove-Edwards, FloTrac and Fogarty, are sold in approximately 100 countries.

A growing presence

The 98,000 sq ft, S$27.4 million (US$20 million) Singapore facility will strengthen this pole position. "The facility joins our important and far-reaching network of advanced heart valve operations in Irvine, California, and Horw, Switzerland," he says, "It also puts us closer to the countries in Asia-Pacific region, which has been one of our fastest growing regions."

The Singapore facility also serves as the HQ for Edwards' Asia-Pacific operations and will manage sales, marketing and other customer-related operations covering Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. Edwards' total headcount for HQ and manufacturing activities in Singapore is expected to hit 500 in the next few years.

The company's choice of Singapore underscores its confidence in the country's reliable technology infrastructure, highly-skilled manpower, advanced logistics and global connectivity.

Edwards first arrived on Singapore's shores in 2005 with a small temporary facility of just 10 employees producing wireform stents that form the foundation of Edwards' tissue heart valves. With increasing global demand for the replacement tissue heart valves, the operations here have since expanded substantially, culminating in this latest investment.

"For our business, we require a talented and skilled workforce, strong infrastructure, government support, and favourable business climate and protection. I am pleased to say that we found all of these in Singapore," says Bobo Jr., "Singapore is committed to the vision of making the nation a world-recognised centre for biomedical technology innovation and employment."

Pushing ahead with medical technology

Medical technology is an industry earmarked for rapid growth in Singapore. It registered strong growth in both manufacturing output and value-add at 18 per cent and 15 per cent respectively in 2007, accounting for over 7,300 jobs.

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) targets to double the manufacturing output from S$2.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) last year to S$5 billion (US$3.7 billion) by 2015. In order to meet these targets, Singapore will adopt a two-pronged approach: expand resources in human capital and physical infrastructure, and develop Singapore as a centre for medical technology innovation in Asia.

First, an example of efforts to grow human capital is the partnership between Singapore's Institute of Technical Education and the industry to jointly develop a customised training programme that will equip technicians with the skills required by the medical technology sector. The programme, launched in January 2006, will train a pool of more than 60 students for the industry annually.

Second, to develop Singapore as a leading medical innovation hub that harnesses ideas and creativity to nurture businesses, Singapore will foster innovation by supporting entrepreneurship and commercialisation efforts. This is in addition to ongoing efforts to build up critical basic research capabilities in Singapore and to draw a pool of global scientific talents here. In 2003, EDB launched the Biomedical Sciences Proof-of-Concept Scheme to provide funding of up to S$200,000 (US$146,000) for public sector researchers to demonstrate the commercial value of their technology by working with industry partners. Forty projects have been supported through the scheme to date. This complements SPRING Singapore's recently announced S$50 million (US$36.5 million) Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme that would support 100 companies over the next five years to convert their ideas into promising businesses.

Building on this two-pronged strategy to build up human and industrial capital and develop medical technology innovation, while leveraging Singapore's existing strengths, the country is well positioned to serve as a strategic location for medical technology companies to research, design and manufacture for Asia and beyond in the coming years.
This investment is in line with Singapore's plans to be a medical technology hub in the region.