GlaxoSmithKline and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology, and Research have signed a five-year strategic agreement to develop new, improved formulations of drugs designed to provide additional benefits for patients in emerging markets.

The partners cited growing demand for pharmaceuticals in emerging markets—especially China, Brazil, India, and Russia—as well as complementary goals for their partnership to develop the medicines.

GSK hopes to leverage its portfolio of off-patent products, while A*STAR sees an opportunity to position Singapore as a regional center for the development of drugs for emerging markets. Financials of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Collaborating with GSK, a global leader in pharmaceuticals and healthcare, provides an opportunity for us to further our research and deepen our capabilities in formulation science with skilled scientists and technical expertise,” says Keith Carpenter, executive director of A*STAR’s Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences. “This venture will enable us to develop future scientists and laboratory analysts with the right skills to grow this industry in Singapore.”

GSK has collaborated with the ASTAR institute since 2003. The new collaboration leverages the institute’s strengths and expertise in synthesis, formulation and process development, they said, as well as GSK’s experience in drug candidate selection, optimization, and product development in novel formulations. ASTAR also expects that the collaboration will enhance its technical expertise and know-how in drug formulation, analytical techniques, development and scale up. It will develop a pool of local expertise in specialized formulation for pharmaceutical development in Singapore.

“Within GSK’s portfolio of off-patent products, evidence-based formulations are an important part of our growth strategy,” says Duncan McKay, GSK’s vice president for emerging markets & Asia Pacific R&D, “and our hope is that together with (the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences) we will create a sustainable, scalable model to meet both specific market conditions and patient requirements.”

In March 2012, GSK formed a separate agreement to develop improved formulations of drugs with Singapore-based Hanmi Pharmaceutical. In that deal, GSK and Hanmi agreed to share clinical development costs based on undisclosed terms, with Hanmi in charge of formulation research, early clinical studies and manufacturing. GSK took charge of late-stage clinical studies and registrations. Both companies agreed to co-market and co-promote the medicines in the Korean and Chinese markets, while GSK took responsibility for marketing and sales in the rest of the world.