Australian-Singaporean regenerative medicine company Osteopore has announced a partnership with SingHealth, under the auspices of A.L.I.C.E@SGH Campus to establish Osteopore’s first Global Centre of Excellence (GCoE) for customised medical devices.
Osteopore’s wholly owned Singaporean subsidiary, Osteopore International Pte Ltd, signed the non-exclusive partnership agreement with SingHealth on 14 May which it is expected to conclude in H2 2026.
Osteopore is a global medical technology company founded in Singapore and listed in Australia that commercialises products designed to enable natural bone healing across multiple therapeutic areas. Osteopore’s patented technology fabricates specific micro-structured scaffolds for bone regeneration through 3D printing and bioresorbable material. Its application in the dental industry includes products like its Osteomesh and Digital Surgical Dentistry (DSD) system
According to the announcement, the GCoE enables Osteopore to set up a dedicated workspace on SGH Campus to co-develop, test, validate, adopt and scale its customised medical device globally while deepening collaboration with SGH’s clinicians and accelerating adoption.
The GCoE’s strategic location on SGH Campus provides Osteopore with significant benefits including preliminary access to cases, timely design and surgical implantation, and ultimately the platform to improve patient outcomes.
Through the GCoE, Osteopore seeks to demonstrate its capability to offer high-value products that result in high-value care. High-value care improves patient quality of life – while reducing overall healthcare costs such as through mitigating hospital re-admissions.1
SingHealth is largest public healthcare cluster which is committed to providing affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare to patients. With a network of acute hospitals, national specialty centres, polyclinics and community hospitals offering over 40 clinical specialties, it delivers comprehensive, multidisciplinary and integrated care.
Enterprise Singapore — a Singapore Government Agency within the Ministry of Trade and Industry — will provide financial support to Osteopore via the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG). The EDG is designed to support Singapore-based companies to kick off new projects, upgrade their businesses, explore growth opportunities, or pursue overseas expansion. This grant covers up to 70% of qualifying costs.
The key terms of the partnership agreement are as follows:
· A dedicated work-space and access to shared facilities for clinician engagement and discussion.
· Consultancy support for the GCoE by selected SGH Clinical Experts.
· An option to extend the partnership for an additional 12 months.
· Total partnership fee of S$284,485, payable by OSX monthly over 30 months, up to 70% of qualified costs supported by Enterprise Singapore.
In parallel with the SingHealth partnership, Osteopore has appointed three SGH clinicians to the company’s Advisory Panel. The clinicians will guide the development and testing of a customised medical device framework, using SGH as a clinical reference site, to develop the selection criteria for adoption in potential overseas hospitals based on suitability and legislation.
The three clinicians are:
1. Assoc Prof Andrew Chin, senior consultant, Dept of Hand & Reconstruction Microsurgery;
2. Assoc Prof Chew Khong Yik, senior consultant, Dept of Plastic, Reconstruction and Aesthetic Surgery;
3. Dr Henry Soeharno, senior consultant, Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery.
“I am delighted to solidify Osteopore’s partnership with SingHealth and to cement our presence on the SGH Campus to support the global expansion plans of our customised medical device. With SGH-based clinicians on our Advisory Panel, we look forward to their contributions to our GCoE,” said Osteopore’s CEO Dr Yujing Lim.
Dr Lim added: “SGH was ranked the number one Academic Medical Centre (AMC) in East Asia — and placed 8th globally — by Brand Finance in the Global Top 250 Hospitals 2023 Report.2 This partnership breaks new ground for Osteopore, enabling us to harness our customised medical device to improve patient outcomes to enhance patients’ quality of life. We are looking forward to creating synergies that not only enhance the impact on health but also help to scale our customised medical device within the region around the globe.”
The announcement added that the US$494.bn (2022) global custom medical device market — of which the Asia Pacific was the fastest growing market — is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2023-2029.4 Historically, Osteopore’s customised medical device business has accounted for 10-15% of the company’s revenue.
References
1. Costs of Defects in Surgical Care: A Call to Eliminate Defects in Value, NEJM Catalyst, DOI: 10.1056/CAT.21.0305
2. https://brandirectory.com/reports/amc-hospitals-2023
3. https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/personalized-medical-devices-market
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