DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Distinguished Partners In Progress Award 2015

Mr Vincent Forlenza, Chairman of the Board, CEO and President of BD,

Minister Lim Hng Kiang,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here this afternoon for the Distinguished Partner in Progress 2015¹ Award Ceremony.

Today, we honour Becton Dickinson (BD) for its significant contributions to Singapore. BD, a global leader in medical technology, has been a committed partner of Singapore over the last three decades, and it has made substantial investments and created quality jobs for Singaporeans.

A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP FOR ASIAN GROWTH AND INNOVATION

BD started its operations in Singapore in 1987, and has made some of its first and largest investments in Asia in Singapore. Its partnership with Singapore has deepened over the years, together with the growing sophistication of our economy and our workforce, and with Asia’s growth. Today, BD employs approximately 1,400 associates in Singapore across its R&D, manufacturing, commercial and regional HQ functions.

Singapore is BD’s regional headquarters for Greater Asia, which includes both developed and emerging Asian markets. The region is not surprisingly the fastest growing market for the company.

Today, Singapore is also one of BD’s key centres of innovation. BD has developed and commercialised novel products and solutions for regional and global markets here. In 2014, BD opened its new annex building in Tuas, which consolidated key functions across the innovation cycle. This strengthened Singapore’s position as BD’s largest global manufacturing site in Greater Asia and as a key R&D hub. This co-location, with its R&D close to its production capabilities, is an important advantage to BD.

1. Singapore is the only site in Asia with the full suite of capabilities from needs-identification, product and process development to manufacturing and distribution. It has helped BD to rapidly commercialise new products such as the Intima II™ and Pegasus™ closed IV catheter systems.
2. BD is also developing an innovative obstetrical instrument for use in delivery during troubled labour, called The Odon Device™. This is BD’s first innovation in maternal health and is a project undertaken in collaboration with the World Health Organization and EDB.

The nexus of upstream and downstream activities is an important part of how we develop our manufacturing sector. It is also thickening the linkages with other complementary activities within our economy, and the partnerships between players large and small, local and foreign.

In this regard, I am pleased to note that BD will be establishing a Strategic Innovation Centre in Singapore to support its next phase of growth. This Centre will strengthen BD’s partnerships with key stakeholders in our local ecosystem including healthcare providers, academia, start-ups, and others, aimed at addressing unmet needs in the region.

Like us, I am glad that BD sees workforce and talent development as a key ingredient for continuous innovation and long-term success.

1. BD has been a corporate sponsor of the Singapore Stanford Biodesign Programme² since 2012. This is a collaboration between EDB, A*STAR and Stanford University designed to develop MedTech innovators who are familiar with the region’s unique clinical and medical needs.
2. BD is a founding member of the Singapore-based Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed), formed in 2015 to promote access to healthcare in the Asian region.
3. BD has also embarked upon its own talent development initiatives geared at growing talent familiar with Asia, including a pipeline of Singaporeans. In 2015, BD launched its inaugural Asian Leadership Development Programme³ in Singapore to groom future commercial leaders with a keen appreciation of the challenges and opportunities in Asia.

Apart from strong contributions to workforce development, BD has also partnered various community organisations. These include supporting the Children’s Cancer Foundation’s iconic Hair for Hope event⁴ over the past 3 years, raising funding for the Singapore Cancer Society and volunteering at Willing Hearts⁵.

CONCLUSION

BD has been a valuable and strategic partner for Singapore and continues to drive the growth of Medtech in Singapore and in the Asian region. On behalf of the Government of Singapore, I extend my heartiest congratulations to BD as they receive the Distinguished Partner in Progress Award, and we look forward to many more years of successful partnership. Thank you.

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[1] Becton Dickinson was successfully nominated for the DPIP Award in 2015.

[2] The innovation fellowship under the SSB programme has seen the training of a total of 20 fellows thus far. In addition, SSB’s multidisciplinary graduate course has seen the training of a total of 223 participants, of which about 60% are from local universities.

[3] There have been a total of 21 participants under this programme thus far.

[4] For the past 3 years, BD associates have assembled to raise awareness of childhood cancer and show support and solidarity for children who lose their hair in during treatment (by having their own hair shaved off). Each year about 25-30 associates have participated in the hair shaving. BD has raised nearly S$50,000 over these three years for the Children’s Cancer Foundation.

[5] Willing Hearts is a soup kitchen at which BD associates volunteer on a monthly basis commencing this April 2016. To date, over 70 associates from BD have participated in this programme.