$40mln fund launched for medical technology start-ups

This as biomedical sciences contributes 10% of total manufacturing output and employs more than 13,000 people.

The government said the knowledge and capital intensive nature of the sector and the longer ‘gestation period’ have made it difficult for start-ups with innovative ideas to succeed. Thus the launch of the fund that will be managed by SPRING SEEDS Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SPRING Singapore, under a new Biomedical Sciences Accelerator (BSA) programme.

Through this BSA programme, SPRING hopes to catalyse the formation for more innovative start-ups, as well as to better commercialise the intellectual property developed in the sector. For a start, the BSA programme will focus on grooming start-ups in the medical technology sub-sector, leveraging on Singapore’s strength in integrating the physical and medical sciences.

SPRING SEEDS Capital is calling for proposals to select up to two BSA Operators for the programme. The selected Operators will identify, evaluate, finance and manage high-potential medtech start-ups. SPRING SEEDS Capital will co-invest in these start-ups on a 1:1 basis.