Top 10 Pharmaceutical & Medical Technology Companies

Area: Diagnostics, medical devices, generic pharmaceuticals and nutritionals.

Brief History: Abbott worldwide was founded in 1888. Today, Abbott employ approximately 73,000 people in 150 countries – 2014 global sales were $22 billion. Abbott work in research, development, manufacture and marketing of a range of products. Their portfolio spans the breadth of healthcare including medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic pharmaceuticals and nutritionals.

Abbott in Singapore: Abbott have had a presence in Singapore since 1970. Today, Abbott employs approximately 900 people across the country. These employees are across two sites – the Abbott Nutrition Asia-Pacific Research & Development Center at Biopolis Research Park and Abbott Manufacturing Singapore in Tuas.

Area: Biopharmaceuticals

Brief History: Established in 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to bring biotechnology based products to patients. They led the way in developing innovative products based on advances in recombinant DNA and molecular biology, and they were responsible for biotechnology’s first blockbuster medicines. Their portfolio today includes treatments in the therapy areas of oncology, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

Amgen in Singapore: In 2014, Amgen opened their first biomanufacturing site in Asia, within the Tuas Biomedical Park. They also recently announced a second manufacturing facility on the same site. Once operational, this will be the company’s first commercial API manufacturing facility. most recently, in 2015, Amgen opened commercial operations within the country.

Area: Pharmaceuticals

Brief history: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, describing itself as a “science-led global healthcare company”. GSK took its current form in 2000 after a merger between SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome, and in 2014 it ranked as the sixth-biggest pharmaceutical company worldwide. Their products fall into three main areas – vaccines, pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare.

GlaxoSmithKline in Singapore: Click here for a full article about GlaxoSmithKline in Singapore.

Area: Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals

Brief History: Founded in 1886 with the initial idea that wounds should be treated and dressed using sterile equipment – today’s Johnson and Johnson is one of the world’s biggest healthcare companies. Johnson and Johnson operate three distinct divisions – medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer health. Their products are marketed in 57 countries via almost 265 operating companies – global personnel is approximately 126,000.

Johnson & Johnson in Singapore: Singapore acts as a regional centre for many of Johnson & Johnson’s companies.

Area: Contract development & manufacturing

Brief History: Lonza was founded in Switzerland in 1897. Today, Lonza employs approximately 10,000 people at over 40 R&D and manufacturing sites around the world. The company currently operates with two distinct divisions – Speciality Ingredients and Pharma & Biotech – providing contract development and manufacturing service to a wide-range of clients.

Lonza in Singapore: Lonza’s operations in Singapore began in 2007 with the opening of a biological manufacturing facility within the Tuas Biomedical Park. In 2009 they opened a cell therapy facility on the same site. Most recently, in 2011, Lonza announced the investment of a cell culture manufacturing facility. This site develops and produces biopharmaceutical products on a contract basis.

Area: Medical devices

Products You Might Know: Revel insulin pump, Micra pacemaker, Sophono hearing device

Brief history: Medtronic began as a medical supply repair shop in the US in 1949, and their first commercial product was a battery powered, wearable pacemaker. From then on, they have focused on technology as a means of improving treatment. Today, there is a focus on using that technology to improve treatment and management of chronic conditions specifically – Medtronic claim that “every 3 seconds, another life is improved by a Medtronic product or therapy”. In 2014, Medtronic bought Irish company Covidien to further expand their scope. Globally, Medtronic employ over 85,000 people in over 160 countries.

Medtronic in Singapore: In 2009, Medtronic opened a cardiac device manufacturing facility – the first in Asia. In 2011 Medtronic opened an additional manufacturing site. This also initially served as regional headquarters for the company. In 2016, the regional headquarter activities, moved to their newly opened offices at the Mapletree Business Centre.

Area/Products: Healthcare company

Brief history: Following their merger with Schering-Plough in 2009, MSD is the world’s second largest pharmaceutical company with operations in over 140 countries. They produce a wide range of products including vaccines and prescription medications for disease areas including diabetes, HIV, hepatitis C, oncology and osteoporosis.

MSD in Singapore: MSD employ approximately 1500 people across 5 sites in Singapore. These sites include their Asia Pacific Headquarters, pharmaceutical manufacturing, an animal health site and a research centre. In 2011, MSD announced a further investment of US$250 million in Singapore, with an agreement to expand both R&D and manufacturing in the county over the next decade.

Click here for a full article about MSD in Singapore.

Area/Products: Pharmaceuticals

Brief history: Parent company, Novartis AG, is a global healthcare company based in Switzerland, established in its current form in 1996 from the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz. They are seen as having one of the strongest pharmaceutical pipelines, currently reporting 140 treatments in clinical development. Their pharmaceuticals treat disease areas such as neurology, oncology, ophthalmology and metabolism along with many more.

Novartis in Singapore: Novartis has 4 manufacturing sites across Singapore, as well as commercial operations and its regional headquarters. The company’s investment in Singapore totals more than S$1.6 billion. In total, there are over 1500 employees across the country.

Area: Pharmaceuticals

Brief History: Pfizer was first established in 1849 as a fine-chemicals business in New York and has grown to become the world’s biggest bio-pharmaceutical company through both pipeline development and acquisition. Pfizer has treatments in many prominent disease areas and therapies in most high-growth markets. In 2014, Pfizer’s revenue was reported as $49.6 billion.

Pfizer in Singapore: Pfizer has had a presence in Singapore since 1964. In late 2016, Pfizer opened a manufacturing technology development centre on Jurong island. The purpose of this site is to develop the company’s high-tech manufacturing technologies. In total, the company has over 600 employees in Singapore, including approximately 500 at a manufacturing site in Tuas

Area: Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics

Brief History: Roche is a Swiss based company that was founded in 1896. The company has efforts in both pharmaceutical and diagnostic development and manufacture. There are over 80,000 people employed by Roche worldwide and products are distributed in more than 150 countries.

Roche in Singapore: After establishing a presence in the country in 1973, Roche have three areas of operation in Singapore – pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and diagnostics (for which, Singapore acts as regional headquarters). Their technical operations (manufacturing) in Singapore began in 2009. There are currently two biologics manufacturing facilities within the same site in the Tuas Biomedical Park – these are the first such facilities for the company in Asia.