Meet the Media: Asia-Pacific Biotech News

Based in Singapore, Asia-Pacific Biotech News (APBN) is a premium monthly magazine offering comprehensive reports on the fields of pharmaceuticals, healthcare and biotechnology, as well as food and agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 1997, the magazine boasts a circulation of 4,000 and an electronic reach of 200,000. Its main subscribers comprise pharmaceutical professionals, investors and researchers from around the world, in addition to Singapore’s National Library Board and universities. Readers have free access to APBN’s online articles, but are required to pay a subscription fee for its PDF and print versions.

What makes APBN unique?
The trade publication reinforces its reputation as a leading life science and pharmaceutical magazine in the Asia-Pacific region by featuring interviews with industry experts, such as Professor Michael Whitt from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Professor Bian Junhui, Dean of Shantou University Medical College. Together with covering the latest developments in the life science industry, such interviews help add credibility and value to the magazine.

“We are also working very closely with renowned pharmaceutical companies, especially Merck, Roche and Pfizer to get them actively involved by contributing articles,” added Ms. Lin Yuhui, APBN’s Editor-in-Charge. “The main goal of this trade publication is to have pharmaceutical and healthcare companies learn more about the key activities of academic researchers, as well as broadcast their recent projects.”

On top of that, Lin hopes that the interviews would provide the younger generation with a better understanding of the research field and motivate them to pursue their interest in that area.

How does APBN carry out brainstorming for feature story ideas?
According to Lin, the editorial team draws inspiration from current affairs and topics that potentially interest readers. For example, Lin saw the opportunity to touch on anti-MERS-CoV drug development in the midst of the outbreak and scheduled an interview with Professor Jiang Shibo, a virologist and expert in vaccination development. The feature story was not only pertinent to the theme of “Preventative and Translational Medicine” for APBN’s July issue, but also touched on a viral news story.

Who handles the media at APBN?
“The editors handle the media and interviews, because there should not be a second person who knows the magazine and the content better than the editors,” explained Lin. “We also attend media invites from pharmaceutical companies, as we are familiar with the industry and are able to relate to them.”

Having jumped on board the social media bandwagon with the creation of APBN’s Twitter and Facebook pages this year, Lin plans to expand the publication’s social media presence by registering for an Instagram account in the coming weeks.

“The previous editors were probably new to social media and not too confident about dealing with it; hence, they decided to focus more on the print version and website,” elaborated Lin. “Social media allows us to share news and knowledge with individuals who might not be too familiar with the life science industry but want to know more, and helps our content go viral.”

Tips for conducting an interview:
Lin believes in the importance of performing adequate research before carrying out an interview and taking on a more diplomatic approach when probing into sensitive issues. “Editors and journalists need to consider the repercussions that might come with the questions posed to interviewees when addressing such matters,” she explained.

Interested individuals may arrange a meeting with the editors via biotech_edit@wspc.com or +65 6466 5775. For more information, please visit Asia Biotech or follow APBN on Twitter and Facebook.

About the Editor:

A graduate of Imperial College London, Ms. Lin is well-versed in the fields of demography, epidemiology and molecular biology. She has pursued a PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, and resided in Europe before returning to Singapore. Lin joined Asia-Pacific Biotech News in June 2015, and enjoys attending media invites, conducting interviews with industry experts and reading. One of her all-time favourite books is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Janice Tan is the Audience Development Executive in Singapore for PR Newswire. If you would like your publication to be featured, please get in touch at hkmedia@prnasia.com. Follow us on Twitter for more media related news.