Asia has, indeed, become the new hub for potential growth and innovation, with no signs of losing steam. To appreciate the Asian companies and individuals for their commendable performance and achievements during Calendar Year (CY) 2021, BioSpectrum Asia Excellence Awards 2022 ceremony was held at Lavender Ball Room, Hotel Fort Canning in Singapore on December 2, 2022, and Hummingbird Bioscience received Startup of the Year Award 2022- Special Jury Recognition.

Hummingbird Bioscience, founded in 2015, is an innovative clinical-stage biotech startup focused on developing precision therapies against hard-to-drug targets to improve treatment outcomes. 

The year 2021 saw the startup closing its $125 million Series C financing round, led by Novo Holdings, with significant participation from new investors. Proceeds from this financing are being used to advance the clinical development of Hummingbird Bioscience’s lead assets including, HMBD-001, a best-in-class HER3 antibody for NRG1-fusion and HER3-driven tumours, and HMBD-002, a first-in-class anti-VISTA neutralising antibody for advanced solid tumours. The funds are also being used to expand the capabilities of Hummingbird Bioscience’s proprietary Rational Antibody Discovery platform and progressing the development of its next-generation pipeline of precision therapeutics.

Enabled by its proprietary Rational Antibody Discovery platform, the startup discovers antibodies against optimal yet elusive epitopes on important targets that have not been successfully drugged, unlocking novel mechanisms of action. The founders-Dr Piers Ingram (Chief Executive Officer) and Dr Jerome Boyd-Kirkup (Chief Scientific Officer) are advancing a rich pipeline of first- and best-in-class precision therapies in oncology and autoimmunity, in collaboration with global partners in academia and industry. Its highly experienced teams in the US and Singapore span antibody discovery, pharmacology, production and clinical development.

Image caption- L-R- Ravindra Boratkar, Publisher & Managing Editor, BioSpectrum Asia; Dr Dario Heymann, Chief Research Officer, Galen Growth; Dr Jerome Boyd-Kirkup, Chief Scientific Officer, Hummingbird Bioscience