Life Sciences in Singapore

Life Sciences in Singapore

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Demand for novel and effective therapies in Asia has skyrocketed as the region's population soars and its economies grow. Singapore has emerged as an important hub for innovation with a trusted record for speed and quality manufacturing in the life sciences sector. With strong investments into R&D infrastructure—most notably the Biopolis, a flagship biomedical research campus—biotechnology has rapidly become one of Singapore's most important industries.

Our Life Sciences team sits at the nexus of technology, business and the law to offer you a seamless service that can help you take advantage of one of Singapore's fastest growing sectors.

We actively assist life sciences and biotechnology clients navigate the challenges in developing and commercializing products, delivering services, and capitalizing on scientific breakthroughs and business opportunities around the globe. In addition to our lawyers’ seamless collaboration worldwide, we work closely with research institutes, leaders in scientific opinion, pharma-economic and medical experts and management advisers to provide the well-rounded, commercially focused service you need. Our lawyers also sit as non-scientific members of institutional review boards and ethics committees to review proposed clinical trials for pharmaceutical products and medical devices amongst other proposed clinical research studies.

Our lawyers have participated in numerous venture capital investments, mergers & acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, technology transfer transactions, university spin-offs and initial financing transactions.

We have structured complex licensing, distribution, co-promotion, development and manufacturing agreements. From research and development through manufacturing, protection of intellectual property and patients’ consent, marketing and sales, we provide the knowledge and support you need to keep projects moving, while mitigating risks to help you steer clear of costly delays and complications.

When compliance issues, investigations, litigation, or problems with anti-gift, anti-corruption and transparency regulations threaten to take you away from the business of improving health, our unparalleled preparation and in-depth knowledge of the law, regulations and your business takes the weight off your shoulders.

Benefit from a team that handles a product's entire life cycle, from regulatory advice, monetization and commercialization, as well as litigious representation.

Finance

Corporate commercial
Corporate finance transactions
Mergers and acquisitions
Venture technology – medtech, healthtech, biotech etc
Special tax and specific tax-related matters

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property protection and management
Patent drafting
Collaboration, licensing and distribution agreements
Commercialization and licensing of technology

Regulatory Advice and Dispute Resolution

Regulatory compliance
Litigation, arbitration and mediation
Product liability
Patent infringement and invalidation proceedings

Life Sciences Clients

Academic Medical Centers
Biotechnology Companies (including any start-ups or spin-off entities)
Diagnostic Companies
Research Entities
Manufacturers and Distributors
Medical Device Companies
Pharmaceutical Companies
Venture Capital

More About Life Sciences in Singapore

Experience

A major pharmaceutical company: Advising on regulatory framework in Singapore for conducting stem cell research.
A major US Company: Advising on regulatory issues relating to different business models for a business conducting pre-natal tests.
A Singapore University and a Singapore company: Advising on a research into tumour markers, drafted subscription agreement for injection of shares into the Singapore company by shareholders.
AFT Pharmaceuticals Limited: Represented our clients in the first lawsuit in Singapore involving infringement of a patent for the second medical use of a compound.
An international life sciences and biotech company: Advising on human resource matters relating to the consolidation of its workforce in Singapore and ongoing review of in-house employment practises.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Co. (“BMS”): Acting for the client in a patent infringement case commenced under the patent linkage regime implemented through the US-Singapore FTA relating to the client’s HIV drug, Sustiva®. Our client has five patents for the active ingredient in Sustiva®, efavirenz, an innovative drug product that has helped people with HIV live longer.
Confidential client: Acting for an integrated healthcare solutions provider in Southeast Asia in its acquisition of a majority stake of the shares of a healthcare service provider in Singapore. The value of the transaction is approximately S$1.08 million.
H.Lundbeck A/S: Acting for the client in a patent infringement case commenced under the patent linkage regime implemented through the US-Singapore FTA. Apotheca Marketing sought to import products that contain the active ingredient, escitalopram, in the blockbuster drug, Lexapro ®, developed by the client.
Kickstart Ventures Inc: Acting in its investment in mClinica, a Singapore-based HealthTech startup, for an aggregate fund raising amount of US$6.3 million in Series A funding.
Luye Pharma Group Ltd: Acting as lead counsel in the acquisition of a group of subsidiaries in Malaysia, Germany, Australia, India and Singapore involved in the research and development of integrated molecular solutions and medical technologies, from Vela Holding Pte. Ltd. (under judicial management) worth US$31 million.
Merck & Co Inc: Acting in a pharmaceutical patent case which will involve a challenge under the Medicines Act which has not been done before. Merck sought an order from the High Court that Novartis had furnished a false declaration to the HSA. The order, if granted can be used to revoke Novartis’ product licence obtained from the HSA. Action by way of originating summons was initiated in the High Court.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp: Acting for the client in a patent infringement case commenced under the patent linkage regime implemented through the US-Singapore FTA .Novartis sought to apply for product licences for products that contain the active ingredient, Etoricoxib, for which Merck has a patent that directly relates to it.
Various Clients: Assisting in establishing presence in Singapore, attending to corporate compliance obligations under local legislation and advising on business agreements in foreign jurisdictions.
Various Clients: Actively advising several emerging entities/ university spin-offs in the biotechnology and medical devices sectors with their fund-raising needs including drafting and reviewing Series A and seed-stage investment agreements and convertible notes.
Vertex Ventures: Acting in its investment in Clearbridge Biomedics, which specialises in novel platforms with applications in oncology research and diagnostics, worth S$9 million.

Insights

Scammed or hacked? Overview of common fraud techniques and the corporate response playbook (in Japanese)

June 11, 2021

Singapore: Scams and cyber attacks – it can happen to any corporate entity. Nobody is immune to scams and cyber-attacks. With the increase in scammers’ levels of sophistication, their targets have also increased in scale. Scammers even routinely target multinational corporates and banks which have far more robust defences and highly trained personnel than the average SME. As such, the authors seek to suggest a quick response playbook that companies can consider adopting and for determining their responses during a time-sensitive period when faced with such issues.

Scammed or hacked? Overview of common fraud techniques and the corporate response playbook

May 21, 2021

Life Sciences in Singapore