Environmental Scan 2017 | Page 164

Environmental Scan 2017: Human Capital Issues within the Medical Devices Sector Benchmarked Countries Description different stakeholders within the healthcare and medical technology ecosystem. Their key stakeholders consist of a diverse range of people including clinicians, governments, regulators, healthcare providers and manufacturers of medical devices.  As of 2015, Singapore’s medical technology sector contributed to more than S$ 10 Billion worth of output while creating approximately 16,000 jobs across manufacturing, R&D and operations. Medical Device Industry Growth Drivers  Singapore has a strong advantage in terms of its geographical location and the availability of a wide range of niche businesses in the country  The presence of two Medical Technology hub in Singapore Biopolis and Tuas Biomedical Park. o These parks focus on research and development, manufacturing and healthcare to complete the entire ecosystem. The Singapore Biopolis also plays a pivotal role in bringing together major research institutes to create a center of excellence and serves as a focal point in attracting top scientific talents to Singapore.  The strong presence of skilled workforce within all sub verticals within the healthcare industry further enhances the medical devices landscape in Singapore. The talented and experienced workforce support a wide range of corporate laboratories and both domestic and international pharmaceutical companies.  Strong collaboration between scientists and researchers from research agencies like A*STAR and industry to exchange ideas and explore collaborations, facilitating commercialization of research outputs. This is a very important component in the development of new and innovative medical devices moving forward.  The other driver that encourages innovation in Singapore is the ability of private sector laboratories to make use of shared infrastructure  The government has spent close to $2bn over the last few years by investing in infrastructure and biomedical capabilities while allocating more than $3bn between 2011 to 2015 to support biomedical enterprises and research works. 164