A significant stride in pharmaceutical innovation is underway with the substantial investment in a cutting-edge drug discovery platform. This initiative promises to revolutionize the development of new treatments, particularly for fibrotic diseases that currently lack effective therapeutic options. The collaborative effort leverages advanced computational methods, including artificial intelligence and the burgeoning power of quantum computing, to accelerate the identification of novel drug candidates. This transformative approach underscores the growing synergy between academia and industry in addressing critical global health challenges and fostering the emergence of groundbreaking biotech ventures.
Pioneering Platform Secures Major Investment for Anti-Fibrotic Therapies
On a momentous day in August 2025, 65LAB, a distinguished consortium of international investors and life science entities, announced a substantial commitment of US$1.5 million (approximately S$1.9 million) to Professor Enrico Petretto. This pivotal funding is earmarked to propel the advancement of a revolutionary drug discovery platform, meticulously cultivated at the esteemed Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. The primary objective of this ambitious endeavor is to pioneer and deliver groundbreaking, first-in-class antifibrotic treatments, specifically targeting debilitating lung and kidney ailments—conditions for which effective cures remain elusive in contemporary medicine.
The innovative core of Professor Petretto's research lies in his sophisticated platform, aptly named Systems Genetics. This interdisciplinary framework seamlessly intertwines the analytical prowess of computational biology with the learning capabilities of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. Furthermore, the platform is continuously being augmented and refined through the integration of cutting-edge quantum computing methodologies, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in molecular discovery. This significant award is further bolstered by an additional investment of US$390,000 (approximately S$500,000) from Duke-NUS's own early-stage innovation fund and incubation program, LIVE Ventures, demonstrating strong internal confidence in the project's potential.
Fibrosis, characterized by the pathological accumulation of damaged and scarred tissues, represents a grave medical challenge, frequently culminating in organ failure. Diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a severe form of lung disease, tragically impact an estimated one in ten thousand individuals across the Asia-Pacific region. Concurrently, chronic kidney disease presents an escalating public health burden, with projections indicating it will affect a staggering one in four residents in Singapore by the year 2035. Professor Petretto’s visionary work directly confronts this immense unmet medical need by systematically identifying specific molecules that possess the potential to be transformed into novel antifibrotic medications. Early preclinical studies conducted by his dedicated team have already yielded highly encouraging results, demonstrating a remarkable reduction of at least 50% in fibrosis within scarred tissues following treatment with their newly identified compounds. These promising molecules exert their therapeutic effects by precisely inhibiting the activity of a crucial gene, WWP2, which has been definitively identified as a primary driver of tissue scarring across a spectrum of diseases affecting the lungs, heart, and kidneys.
Dr. Chen Huimei, a distinguished Principal Research Scientist at Duke-NUS's Centre for Computational Biology and a pivotal co-Principal Investigator on this project, underscores the platform's unparalleled efficiency. She explains that their computational framework empowers the team to rapidly pinpoint optimal drug targets for intricate diseases and significantly expand the pool of potential drug candidates, thereby enhancing the probability of discovering highly effective inhibitors for the WWP2 gene. Looking ahead, Professor Petretto’s team is actively seeking collaborations with external partners to rigorously test and further develop their small-molecule inhibitors into clinically viable antifibrotic drugs. The commercialization ambitions of Professor Petretto’s pioneering research are robustly supported by Duke-NUS’s Centre for Technology and Development, which is diligently safeguarding these novel drug targets and molecular entities through strategic patent filings.
A Synergistic Ecosystem Fostering Biotech Innovation
The substantial award from 65LAB profoundly highlights the indispensable nature of close collaborative partnerships between esteemed academic institutions and influential industry leaders. Such alliances are paramount in accelerating the translation of groundbreaking scientific discoveries into commercially viable innovations. The strategic alliance forged by 65LAB, synergistically combined with the crucial early-stage venture funding provided by Duke-NUS’s innovative incubator, LIVE Ventures, collectively cultivates a robust and dynamic ecosystem. This fertile ground is designed to nurture promising scientific advancements, transforming them into new therapeutic companies that emanate from Singapore, poised to tackle critical health challenges on a global scale.
Professor Petretto's project underwent a rigorous and highly competitive evaluation process, ultimately securing unanimous endorsement and support from all investors and partners affiliated with 65LAB. Dr. Pei-Sze Ng, who presides as Chair of the 65LAB Joint Steering Committee and serves as an Investment Director at Leaps by Bayer, eloquently articulated the profound alignment of this award with 65LAB's core mission. She emphasized that by seamlessly integrating world-class academic research with precisely targeted funding and invaluable industry expertise, their collective endeavor transcends mere acceleration of drug discovery. Instead, it actively cultivates the burgeoning biotech venture ecosystem within Singapore, thereby bringing innovative therapeutic solutions ever closer to patients worldwide who are in desperate need of them.
Associate Professor Christopher Laing, the distinguished Vice-Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Duke-NUS, views this investment as a compelling testament to the immense commercialization potential inherent in Professor Enrico Petretto's Systems Genetics pipeline. He envisions this project as a beacon of hope, capable of ushering in a new era of therapeutic treatments for individuals grappling with chronic diseases characterized by fibrosis. Furthermore, Professor Laing posits that this represents a resounding affirmation of the platform’s inherent robustness, particularly in its capacity for AI-driven target discovery, signaling a promising future brimming with additional investable opportunities.
This landmark investment in Professor Petretto's research follows the inaugural award by 65LAB in July 2024, when Associate Professor Lena Ho, also from Duke-NUS, received US$1.5 million in funding for her pioneering work on developing microproteins as therapeutic targets to combat chronic inflammation.