65LAB backs NUS biotech venture with $2.13m funding

The capital will help advance a treatment candidate for a chronic lung disease.

Singapore-based venture creation platform 65LAB has committed $2.13m (US$1.66m) to a National University of Singapore (NUS) research project developing a biologic therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The funding was awarded to associate professor Ruowen Ge from NUS' Department of Biological Sciences and co-principal investigator professor Fred Wong, director of the Drug Discovery and Optimisation Platform and professor in the Department of Pharmacology.

The funding will support pre-clinical development of a potential first-in-class airway-delivered biologic for COPD and other immune cell-driven lung diseases, aimed at advancing the programme towards potential company creation, according to 65LAB.

The NUS team said it has identified an anti-inflammatory protein that, in preclinical studies, reduced lung inflammation, restored lung function, and suppressed COPD.

The candidate is being developed for both T2 and non-T2 COPD.

Ge said the funding will help advance the biologic candidate through pre-clinical development and support the creation of a new company focused on COPD therapies.

The award was made through 65LAB, a Singapore-based venture creation platform established by ClavystBio, Leaps by Bayer, Lightstone Ventures, Polaris Partners, the Polaris Innovation Fund, and life sciences company Evotec.

65LAB said the project was selected through a competitive evaluation process and received support from its investors and partners.

The COPD programme is the third project funded by 65LAB, which was established to support the translation of scientific research into new biotechnology companies in Singapore.

The funding comes as Singapore continues to expand its biotechnology commercialisation ecosystem.

A*STAR and the National University of Singapore launched a joint synthetic biology laboratory on 11 June to help accelerate the commercialisation of research in areas including nutrition, consumer care, and healthcare.