AstraZeneca Singapore signed a contract with technology partners Respiree, OncoShot, Thermaiscan, Ubie and Hewlett Packard Enterprise in November 2021 to offer new digital healthcare solutions for chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart failure, and respiratory diseases to patients. Against this backdrop, pharma companies are under constant pressure to innovate and stay competitive. As a result, key players are expected to form collaborations with tech companies in Singapore, observes GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Venturing into digital health solutions space is perhaps one of the most significant developments in the industry to date. Capitalizing on their partnerships with digital health providers, pharma players in Singapore can explore this promising opportunity to offer substantial benefits to patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders.

GlobalData’s report, ‘Singapore Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape – CountryFocus’, reveals that the total healthtech deals in Singapore were valued at more than US$1bn in 2020, with venture financing and M&A accounting for more than 75% of the deals value.

Neha Myneni, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The pandemic has fast-tracked the adoption and further development of digital health. Singapore being the technological hub for Southeast Asia, the country is well equipped to transform the future of pharma within the region.”

AstraZeneca had signed three key agreements with Singapore’s artificial intelligence (AI) start-up eko.ai, the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) and A*STAR in 2020 to drive better health outcomes by leveraging AI, big data, and genomics. The partnerships use technology to identify risk factors for disease prevention and earlier diagnosis, and to improve the treatment and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and cancer.

Eisai invested in Neuroglee Therapeutics, a Singapore-based developer of digital therapeutics for people with neurodegenerative diseases, in 2020.

Earlier in 2018, GSK, MSD, and Pfizer partnered with the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University, and the Singapore Institute of Technology to initiate the Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore, led by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) to transform the manufacturing operations and technologies of the industry for greater efficiencies.

Myneni concludes: “Healthcare is a key part of Singapore’s National AI strategy. GlobalData expects more pharma players to leverage Singapore’s technology capabilities in addressing various needs of the pharma industry.”