How Co-Working Labs Are Changing the Landscape of Singapore’s Biotech Industry

Though the American and Western European biotech scenes may be significantly larger than Singapore’s, the gap may close in the next few decades. What’s more, Singapore-based biotech companies are now in a good position to dominate markets in the Asia-Pacific in the near future.

Thanks to exceptional support from both the state and locally based private entrepreneurs, it seems that the country is now destined to become a vital link in the global pharmaceutical and biotech supply chains. Despite the local biotech scene being only a few decades old, it has already racked up an impressive array of innovations that are influencing biotechnology applications the world over.

While the Singaporean biotech industry has been responsible for more than its share of  globally important products, innovations, and scientific breakthroughs, some of the most profound developments have started from simple ideas. One such simple idea is a fresh approach to shared laboratory space.

Although shared working spaces have been around for decades their potential in the biotech sector has been underutilised until relatively recently. As with other types of co-working spaces, shared lab spaces have become an integral part of Singapore’s innovation ecosystem. By focusing on delivering what biotech startups need, local co-working labs have become foundational to Singapore’s recent success as a biotech hub.

Here are some ways these unorthodox workspaces have energised the Singaporean biotech scene.

1.) Shared Labs Improve Access to Cutting Edge Biotech Equipment

One of the largest barriers to entry into the biotech industry is the sheer cost of lab equipment and reagents. What’s more, as the startup’s goals become more ambitious and the needs of researchers become more complex, the equipment required becomes more expensive as well. 

As with other kinds of co-working spaces, a shared laboratory space allows different biotech startups to share the cost and use of equipment that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. The proliferation of affordable, high-quality shared lab spaces in Singapore has made the country a go-to destination for biotech entrepreneurs and professionals looking to make waves in the industry.

2.) They Allow Biotech Professionals to Mingle and Build Networks

Biotech is such a complex field that requires so many different specialists that it is virtually impossible for any individual to make significant breakthroughs on their own. Innovations in the industry are almost always a result of highly concerted group efforts.

Assembling a group of qualified biotech professionals is not an easy feat either. In places that do not yet have a mature biotechnology industry, biotech researchers and other professionals are almost obliged to move to a place that does have one.

Fortunately, shared laboratories increase the likelihood that biotech professionals—already a rare breed—can meet, collaborate, and share ideas. This is especially important for industries with high financial and professional barriers to entry.

Since they started opening for business, co-working labs in Singapore have been bringing highly qualified biotech professionals and visionaries together. As with Singapore’s other co-working spaces, world-changing partnerships and collaborations are being forged almost daily in these laboratories.

3.) They Provide Operational Flexibility

Co-working laboratories in Singapore are not just for plucky startups. These labs also provide a range of vital services for established biotech firms that may already run their own laboratories in-house. 

The ability to rent space and equipment at short notice allows these larger biotech firms the flexibility to immediately scale up operations to meet a temporary increase in demand. This allows larger biotech businesses more leeway in their operations and gives them an alternative to building additional facilities of their own.

4.) Shared Laboratories Shorten the Biotech Innovation Cycle

A high barrier to entry means a high barrier to innovation. Singapore’s shared labs seem to have addressed many of the entry issues that used to be associated with the biotech industry. The improved access to space and equipment, better operational flexibility, and professional networking benefits of shared laboratories have all come together to shorten the innovation cycle for biotechnology in Singapore. 

While setting up a biotech startup still isn’t cheap, the existence of shared lab spaces in a country with such robust support for biotechnology has empowered many small teams to do feats that were considered impossible just a decade ago. Now, even large biotech businesses are turning to these spaces as a way to boost their internal R&D efforts.

Thanks to shared labs, more minds in biotech are likely to make their world-changing breakthroughs in Singapore in the coming years. While shared lab spaces are only part of the reason for Singapore’s remarkable biotech innovations, they are undoubtedly one of the driving forces in the country’s outsized presence in biotechnology. 

The fact that Singapore was able to build a robust biotech industry in such a short time is a testament to how much could be done when local entrepreneurs think globally and receive adequate support.