OUR VISION
The Esco Lifesciences Group aims to invent, discover, and commercialize enabling technologies to make human lives healthier and safer.
OUR MISSION
Innovation
Embrace innovation and take calculated risks in order to address unmet needs
Effective Operations
Utilize the Esco Business System as a strategic tool to continuously improve our operating effectiveness
Global Footprint
Deepen our global footprint and market access
Transformation
Transform our product and service offerings, and increase the share of our recurring revenues
Life Sciences Ecosystem
Build a leading life sciences ecosystem; operating across life sciences tools, medical technology, CDMO services for cell and gene therapy, and selected healthcare services.
Taking the Lead
Be a leading life sciences company with deep and localized operations in China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America.
Social Responsibility
Benefit the communities that we operate in
Milestones
Esco Lifesciences Group
1978 - 1997
Pioneering Cleanroom Technology in Southeast Asia
Esco was founded in 1978 by Singaporean pharmacists Lim Lay Yew and Low Yae Foong. Esco was launched to manufacture cleanroom products for Singapore’s then-booming electronics industry. In its early days, Esco manufactured its first laminar flow clean bench. During this time, Esco also designed and built its first microelectronics class 10,000 cleanroom for Siemens Corporation. The business expanded as Esco embarked on distribution to the pharmaceutical, life science, biotechnology, and medical research markets in Malaysia and Indonesia with the establishment of Esco Micro (M) Sdn Bhd and PT Esco Bintan Indonesia.
2000 - 2005
Transformation into a Life Sciences Tools Company
In 2000, Esco successfully adapted to the field shifting towards the life sciences. The company quickly transformed itself and earned a reputation for producing and providing laboratory and biological safety equipment. Esco became the first Asian manufacturer to earn EN 12469 certification for biological safety cabinets in 2001 and achieved its first NSF/ANSI certification in 2004. In 2005, Esco was invited by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration to participate in a joint committee to develop the National Standard for Biological Safety Cabinets.
2006 - 2008
Expansion of Operations
To expand the sales of its biological safety cabinets to the global market, Esco set up operations in the United States with the establishment of Esco Technologies, Inc. as an integrated sales, marketing, and distribution center. Offices were also set up in China, Northern America, the Middle East, and Africa. This was followed by a global marketing program (Esco. World Class. Worldwide) to establish its presence as a global life sciences tools company. In 2007, annualized production exceeded 10,000 units.
2009
Esco launches its Pharma Division
Following the success of its biological safety cabinets, Esco established Esco Pharma to expand its repertoire of life sciences tools to include Isotherm® ovens and incubators, Pharmacon™ downflow booths, Swift® MaxPro and MiniPro new-generation PCR thermal cyclers, Labculture® In Vitro Fertilization Workstations, the CelCulture® range of carbon dioxide incubators, and the Lexicon® range of Ultra-low Temperature Freezers.
2012
Esco launches its Medical Division
Esco launched the Esco Medical Division to offer world-class ART/IVF solutions worldwide, with a focus on the new MIRI® Multi-room Incubator. As the IVF MedTech business unit of the Esco Group, Esco Medical provides innovative solutions to fertility clinics and laboratories.
2013 - 2014
New generation life sciences tools
By applying innovative technologies, Esco launched a new range of life sciences tools which include the Airstream® G3 Class II (the greenest low noise biological safety cabinet in the world), the eSafe® BSC (technologically and ergonomically advanced TUV-NORD certified BSC), the MIRI® GA gas and temperature validation unit, the Multi-zone ART Workstation, and the MIRI® Time-Lapse incubator.
2015 - 2018
Esco ventures into Medtech and Biotechnology
In 2016, Esco Healthcare was launched as an umbrella for Esco Pharma, Esco VacciXcell, and Esco TaPestle Rx. The technologies developed from Esco Healthcare were cumulated to establish Esco Aster, the bioprocessing division of the Esco Group of Companies that provides biomanufacturing of vaccines and biologics.
Esco has also invested RMB 100 million into a new 20,000m² Innovation Center in Taicang, China while, at the same time, setting up a venture office in Esco Beijing. Throughout the years, Esco has been given the Singapore Prestige Brand Award for 3 consecutive years and the Top Employer Brand Award, which is a testament to its commitment to its core values and its mission to improve lives through science.
2020 - 2021
Aiding in COVID-19 relief efforts & Esco 3.0
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Esco continues to support our customers with an undisrupted supply of products and services. Thousands of biosafety cabinets, PCR cabinets, freezers, and other COVID-related equipment were installed and serviced by Esco across the globe. The Trace, Test, and Treat Platform was also launched to help with the worldwide COVID pandemic relief.
As a leading provider of life sciences tools & services, Esco is poised to benefit from the sustained growth of the healthcare and biopharma industries in Asia and globally. In 2021, we closed a USD200 million series A round co-led by Vivo Capital and Novo Holdings, with participation from GIC, EDBI, China Investment Corporation (CIC) and other sophisticated investors. Since then, we embarked on our Esco 3.0 transformation, which primarily involves a focused and disciplined M&A strategy to strengthens our core capabilities and then progressively enter new markets. We will also expand our research and development capabilities to upgrade and expand our coverage in life sciences tools and consumables.