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Good practice Imported

one-north (Biopolis / Fusionopolis)

Singapore · Singapore · See the Singapore profile · See the Singapore profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 65% 62/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since its 2001 launch, Singapore's 200-hectare one-north estate — Biopolis and Fusionopolis — has grown to 400+ companies and 50,000+ knowledge workers around A*STAR's research institutes, though early biopharma spinoff commercialization lagged its manufacturing growth.

400+ companies
Resident companies (present)
50,000+ workers
Knowledge workers employed on-site (present)
6 to 29.4 S$ billion
Biomedical manufacturing sector output growth (2000-2012)
6,000 to 15,700 workers
Biomedical manufacturing sector employment growth (2000-2012)
2,400+ startups
Startups supported by LaunchPad @ one-north (since 2015)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
JTC Corporation (Singapore government statutory board), with A*STAR public research institutes
Period
2001–present
Keywords
Biomedical R&D, infocomm technology, research commercialization, startup incubation

Context

one-north is a research-and-business estate in Singapore's Queenstown Planning Area, developed and managed by JTC Corporation, a Singapore government statutory board. Conceptualised in 1991 under the National Technology Plan and publicly announced in 1998 as a S$5 billion 'science hub,' it was officially launched on 4 December 2001, with a Zaha Hadid Architects master plan estimating S$15 billion in costs over 15-20 years.

Objectives

The estate was designed to host an integrated biomedical R&D, infocomm/media/engineering and university research district, bringing together A*STAR public research institutes, universities and private R&D tenants.

Activities

Its precincts include Biopolis (biomedical R&D, opened 2003) and Fusionopolis (infocomm, media and engineering, Phase I opened 2008), hosting A*STAR public research institutes such as the Genome Institute of Singapore alongside private R&D tenants and universities including NUS; LaunchPad @ one-north has supported startups since 2015.

Results

The 200-hectare estate now hosts over 400 companies, 15 public research institutes, 5 institutes of higher learning and more than 50,000 knowledge workers; Fusionopolis alone hosts over 90 companies and roughly 13,000 workers. Biopolis cost an initial S$500 million to build 18.5 hectares of lab space for 1,500+ scientists, later expanding to 13 buildings, and attracted named investments including Chugai Pharmabody Research (S$200 million over five years) and a P&G innovation centre (S$250 million). Singapore's associated biomedical manufacturing sector grew from 6,000 workers and S$6 billion output in 2000 to 15,700 workers and S$29.4 billion output in 2012. LaunchPad @ one-north has supported over 2,400 startups since 2015, including three unicorns (Carousell, PatSnap, Nium).

Conclusions

Independent commentary notes real limitations: despite strong manufacturing growth, few Biopolis-based biopharmaceutical spinoffs and only a couple of novel diagnostics reached market in its first decade, and Eli Lilly closed its Singapore Center for Drug Discovery in December 2010. Aggregate patent and spinoff-company counts for the estate as a whole could not be independently verified.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M) — Publicly announced in 1998 as a S$5 billion 'science hub'; the Zaha Hadid Architects master plan estimated approximately S$15 billion in costs over 15-20 years; Biopolis alone cost an initial S$500 million to build 18.5 hectares of lab space.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Conceptualised in 1991, publicly announced 1998, officially launched 4 December 2001; Biopolis opened 2003, Fusionopolis Phase I opened 2008; the estate remains under continued expansion.
Staffing & skills
JTC Corporation (Singapore government statutory board) as master developer and estate manager, A*STAR public research institutes providing anchor tenancy and scientific staff, LaunchPad @ one-north operating as a startup accelerator/support programme since 2015

Conditions for success

  • Sustained multi-decade government backing and capital commitment (a S$15 billion masterplan) across successive development phases
  • Anchor public research institutes (A*STAR) and universities (NUS) co-located with private R&D tenants to seed density
  • Named large corporate tenant investment (e.g. Chugai Pharmabody Research S$200 million, P&G S$250 million) to build critical mass

Common failure modes

  • Despite strong manufacturing-sector growth, few Biopolis-based biopharmaceutical spinoffs and only a couple of novel diagnostics reached market in its first decade
  • A small domestic market and foreign-talent retention challenges made recouping heavy biopharma investment difficult, illustrated by Eli Lilly's December 2010 closure of its Singapore Center for Drug Discovery
  • Aggregate patent and spinoff-company counts for the estate as a whole could not be independently verified

Where it fits

Governance type
government statutory board-led estate development
Scale
city/national flagship district
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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