Bloomberg reports that Singapore's government will invest $1 B between 2011 and 2015 to promote more R&D in science and technology. According to the country's Minister for Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang, 70 percent of the investment will be aimed at projects to create "economic success". Said Lim, "We will place greater emphasis on competitive funding, to spur innovation and bring out the best ideas for further support and development." He indicated that Singapore needs to see a quicker return on its investment in R&D.
The $1 B Industry Alignment Fund is aimed at making Singapore an "innovation-driven and knowledge-based economy". One of its goals is to connect public and private sector researchers and to facilitate R&D investment. "How much we invest is important," Lim said. "But more important is what we invest it for and where we invest it."
I would refer readers to my previous post regarding PhRMA's appeal for a permanent R&D tax credit for the pharma industry in the US. I submit that this type of targetted tax policy is needed to compete with world goverments who are also backing development in the biomedical or biotech arena. R&D investment and success clearly will have alot to do with who the winners will be in world pharma markets - especially as the global competition heats up.
Posted by Bruce Lehr October 4th 2010.
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