SINGAPORE (June 26): In an effort to give added momentum to Singapore’s drug development scene, two new national platforms and a grant scheme for drug and discovery development have been launched by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

These new initiatives will bridge the "valley of death" between basic science research and pharmaceutical enterprises; enhance collaboration across industry, research institutes, academia, and the hospitals; as well as nurture a strong pool of scientific talent for Singapore’s biomedical ecosystem, says A*STAR during the opening ceremony of the Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC) in Biopolis.

The EDDC is a national platform for drug discovery and development to channel high potential drug candidates toward realising commercial outcomes for Singapore, as well as clinical outcomes that will benefit Singaporeans.

The centre integrates A*STAR’s Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC), the clinical development unit known as Drug Discovery and Development (D3), and the Experimental Biotherapeutics Centre (EBC) and will leverage on Singapore’s competitive advantage in melding biomedical sciences, clinical medicine and engineering to bring early drug targets to first-in-man clinical trials.

Also launched today was the Target Translation Consortium (TTC) which brings together A*STAR, Duke-NUS Medical School, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, National Healthcare Group, National University of Singapore, National University Health System and SingHealth.

Helmed by EDDC, the TTC coordinates early-stage drug discovery efforts across academia, healthcare institutions, and government agencies.

To complement these two new platforms, the Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR) grant scheme was also announced to fund early-stage projects up to $750,000. The scheme consolidates three separate schemes by A*STAR, the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC), as well as the Singapore–MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

Damian O’Connell, CEO EDDC, A*STAR, says, “A significant milestone has been achieved for Singapore with EDDC’s launch as a national drug development platform, leading the formation of a consortium of key players in Singapore’s drug discovery and development ecosystem. We look forward to working with our partners on the next phase of growth in drug development, and leveraging great science to make great medicines for patients.”

Cheryl McCaffery, director, Centre for Tecnology and Development (CTeD), Duke-NUS Medical School, says, “We are pleased to participate in the Target Translation Consortium, both by proposing Duke-NUS projects that may benefit from TTC review and by reviewing project proposals from other Consortium members. Through bringing our respective resources and expertise to bear in our target validation and early stage drug discovery programmes, we may take advantage of synergies that can arise through collaboration, with the objective of increasing the chances of generating successful outcomes for patients and for Singapore.”

Singapore's drug development efforts given additional boost with new national platforms and grant

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Singapore's drug development efforts given additional boost with new national platforms and grant

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