L.E.K. launches life sciences centre of excellence in Singapore

Global management firm L.E.K. Consulting has launched a dedicated Life Sciences centre of excellence in Singapore – the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific from a consultancy player.

Established in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), L.E.K. Consulting’s new locally-based Life Sciences Centre of Excellence (CoE) will draw on the management consulting firm’s global expertise to drive innovation and thought leadership in the Singapore and Asia Pacific’s life sciences and healthcare sectors – said to be the first such dedicated centre in the region.

L.E.K., which has close to 20 offices and 1,200 professionals spread across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, including Asian branches in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore, will through its new CoE provide deep sector insights for the APAC life sciences industry by way of applying global best practices, benchmarking, research and analysis, modelling, and strategy development.

“A rapidly-evolving healthcare environment, breakthrough scientific innovation, digital advancements, increasing global access and new business models are reshaping the life sciences space,” said L.E.K. partner and the new CoE’s executive director Fabio La Mola. “These trends are forcing the life sciences industry to rethink their strategies. Through this new Centre of Excellence, L.E.K. is committed to helping the life sciences industry navigate these challenges, as well as the fast-growing yet diverse APAC landscape, successfully.”

As part of its broader Healthcare Insights Centre, the firm’s Life Sciences CoE will leverage not only L.E.K.’s internal expertise but the strong research ecosystem in Singapore (such as through collaborations with local universities and industry associations), aiming to produce materials on a wide range of life sciences subjects – from the future of drug discovery and development to digitisation in the healthcare sector – and within disciplines such as epidemiology, biology, and genetics among others.

“The centre will be a valuable addition to our business-research ecosystem,” said EDB Hub Services Director Clarence Chua, “and is an example of how global professional services firms can tap onto Singapore’s industry expertise and talent base as they grow their capabilities. L.E.K.’s decision to establish its first APAC Centre of Excellence in Singapore reflects the growing regional demand for specialised advice for key growth sectors such as life sciences.”

Tech and innovation hub

As the Singapore government and EDB makes a continued, concerted effort to transform Singapore into one of the world’s premiere research, tech and professional services hubs, more and more of the globe’s biggest names in consulting are selecting the city as a base for innovation. In just the past few months alone, Synechron has launched a local state-of the art fintech accelerator, the Big Four firms EY and Deloitte have established, respectively, a digital innovation hub and a future of mobility innovation centre, and research firm Kantar has set up an advanced local data analytics lab.

As to L.E.K.’s new CoE, the firm notes that it will operate under the guidance of an external board of advisors made up of industry leaders and members of academia and the government, including chief executives and board leaders from ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, Baxter, Janssen, Medtronic, MSD, Galen Growth Asia, and Takeda.

Earlier this year, L.E.K bolstered its local life sciences division with the appointment of industry veteran Dilpreet Singh as Principal.