NEW CENTER FOR GLAXO IN SINGAPORE

UK pharmaceutical concern Glaxo is setting up a Center for Natural Product Research in Singapore.

The center is being set up through the collaboration of Glaxo with the Economic Development Board and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology at the National University of Singapore. It is the first dedicated unit of its kind in the Republic and will be one of the first few dedicated units in the world to incorporate recent advances in molecular and cell technology for drug screening.

The center is expected to be operational by the end of 1993 and is housed within the IMCB. It will develop and operate high-technology screening systems directed at the discovery of active molecules in natural products. The cost of the venture is estimated at over S$50 million ($30.2 million) over a ten-year period. Initially Glaxo will contribute S$20 million, S$10 million will come from the EDB and the IMCB will also provide S$10 million.