Navigating trends and challenges in APAC's Life Sciences Sector: Insights from Stephanie Ledwidge

With over 12 years of experience, Stephanie Ledwidge specializes in Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical projects and has worked with renowned multinational organizations like Amgen Biopharmaceuticals and CSL Behring Pharmaceuticals.

In a recent interview with Asia Manufacturing News, Stephanie’s shared her insights on her role as Linesight’s Life Sciences lead in Asia-Pacific and Co-Chair of the ISPE Women in Pharma committee.  

What are some of the top of mind trends in the life sciences sector, opportunities and challenges that businesses should be mindful of?

The life sciences sector has been historically consolidated within designated parts of Asia-Pacific, but this has evolved over recent years, and we are now seeing key pharmaceutical hubs emerging across the region with a healthy pipeline of projects underway.

As outlined in Linesight’s latest Construction Market Insights Report, skilled labour is a key challenge impacting construction growth opportunities. In developed life sciences markets such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Australia, there is a significant shortage of biotech talent.

Although headwinds such as interest rates and skilled labour shortages remain front of mind, the outlook remains promising and there are opportunities for sustained growth in this sector. This is backed by significant investments from governments and the private sector to accelerate R&D activities, and place further emphasis on building supply chain resilience.  

For large-scale projects in this industry, effective programme and supply chain management as well as collaborating with a local partner to understand regional nuances and identify strategic opportunities, is crucial.  

How has gender equality evolved in the construction and life sciences industry? Share your experience as a female leader in these sectors.

The construction industry has predominately been a male dominated field for decades and still is. However, there are now a lot of initiatives in Singapore to promote STEM learning in schools and universities to support a future talent pipeline of women in construction. In fact, approximately 48% of all STEM degree candidates in Singapore's universities are women. 

Whilst there is still more work to do to achieve a true gender balance, the life sciences industry has made progress in gender equality, and there are now more female professionals in leadership positions driving change across their lines of work. It’s great to see some examples of this in the large pharma companies with more and more roles at CEO and Board Director level being filled by women.  

Many companies within both industries now also have clear, quantifiable commitments to inclusion and diversity, which wasn’t as common when I started my career.  

As a female leader myself, I’m always mindful of creating a safe space for my team to feel included and empowered. I am also a proud member of Women in Linesight – a global employee resource group that strives to support women in Linesight to excel through mentoring, training and support.  We meet to collaborate on key focus areas, including education programs, mentorship, showcasing talent, and a speaker panel series. 

Tell us about your role as a newly appointed Women in Pharma Co-Chair and the initiatives that you are driving.

This year I took on the role of Co-Chair of the ISPE Singapore Women in Pharma (WIP) committee. ISPE’s Women in Pharma is an initiative committed to maximising the impact women have on the pharmaceutical industry. 

By championing opportunities for members and colleagues to come together, we create a platform for discussing challenges, sharing experiences, and offering support. As an example, I recently moderated a panel discussion covering the theme of 'Making an Impact'. This event allowed for the exchange of ideas and insights among professionals in the field. I really enjoyed some great discussions around the value of mentorship, the importance of internal stakeholders - not just external, and how asking for feedback can set you up for success. 

These events also provide participants with the opportunity to network forge new connections, expand their professional circles, and cultivate mutually beneficial relationships, ultimately enhancing the professional development and success of women in the pharmaceutical industry.  

How are you finding business conditions at present? Where do you see areas of growth for your Linesight?

Linesight is a global leader in providing and delivering professional construction consultancy services (including Cost Management and Project Management) and strategic support across a range of sectors. Mission-critical sectors such as life sciences and data centers are a key area of growth for us, especially in APAC.  

The booming life sciences sector in the region supported by an influx in investments is leading to a surge in demand for associated infrastructure and facilities. The pandemic also underlined the importance of future proofing supply chains; Singapore in particular is emerging as a thriving hub for the life sciences sector, projected to result in a market volume of US$2.3m by 2028. The combination of strategic advantages that Singapore brings to the table (e.g. prime location, sophisticated workforce and R&D capabilities) have attracted large pharmaceutical companies to establish their regional and diversify their operations.  

In recent years, we have seen increased levels of uncertainty in the market such as material pricing and supply chain volatility that impact project budgets and cause delays to already aggressive programme timelines. There is also the ongoing challenge of labour shortages across the industry, whether due to ageing populations or skill gaps, that still hinder industry expansion.   

As we approach 50 years of operations this year, I am particularly excited to be part of Linesight’s growth and journey as we continue to navigate the complexities of the construction industry. We remain positive about the opportunities ahead globally and in the region as APAC is expected to be the fastest growing economy amidst a turbulent world 

For more information about Linesight’s work in the Life Sciences sector, please click here. 

This interview was first published in the July issue of Asia Manufacturing News’ Women Going Places magazine – a publication that features women manufacturing and supply chain across various sectors and how they have pushed gender boundaries in traditionally male-dominated sectors.