Lightstone Ventures, ClavystBio, Leaps by Bayer, Polaris Partners, and the Polaris Innovation Fund, along with global life science company Evotec SE, today announced the launch of 65LAB to advance drug discovery and the creation of new therapeutics companies in Singapore.

The first collaboration of its kind in Singapore, 65LAB was initiated by Lightstone Ventures with Evotec to leverage the global capabilities of its partners – including financing, networks, company creation, and drug development expertise ­­ to identify and accelerate the commercialization of the most promising research from top academic and R&D institutions in Singapore, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Duke-NUS Medical School (a collaboration between

Duke University and NUS). 65LAB aims to combine Evotec's end-to-end integrated R&D platform and product development strength with Singapore's first-class academic and translational science, it's growing biotech infrastructure and capabilities to ultimately create breakthrough therapies with a global health impact.

65LAB was founded to establish a model of long-term partnership to foster future company growth and the development of Singapore's biotech ecosystem. 65LAB selects promising academic projects and invests up to US$1.5 million in each project over the course of 18-24 months. The collaboration enables scientists in partner institutions to accelerate their therapeutic innovations through the support of Evotec's Expert-in-Residence, as well as direct access to the life science company's drug discovery, translational and development capabilities across disease areas and therapeutic modalities. Upon completion, projects will be evaluated by 65LAB's board of global investors for further investment and the creation of new companies.

The core of the 65LAB collaboration is its Singapore-based academic and R&D partners, whose research discoveries will be translated with the goal to potentially achieve commercial success and create positive patient impact. Singapore's public sector academic and translational researchers bring expertise across multiple modalities of treatment and disease areas of high unmet need. Dr. Koh Shuwen, Director, Technology Transfer and Innovation, NUS Enterprise, said: "65LAB embodies the spirit of academic and industry collaboration, successfully translating the University's intellectual property for use and adoption by the industry. This collaboration offers NUS and our partners an opportunity to accelerate innovation by engaging the industry at an early stage of deep technology development." Assistant Professor David Wang, Director of the Centre for Technology and Development, Duke-NUS Medical School, added: "As a research powerhouse, Duke-NUS is committed to translating academic discoveries into clinical products, and I am confident that our collaboration with 65LAB will enable us to take that to a new level." Ms. Irene Cheong, Executive Director of A*STAR's Innovation & Enterprise Group said, "A*STAR is pleased to partner 65LAB and support the translation of novel biomedical discoveries from bench to bedside for the benefit of patients in Singapore and beyond. As a strategic innovation engine for Singapore's R&D ecosystem, we look forward to contributing to the growth of the local biotech ecosystem."

65LAB's Board of Directors is a team of world-leading biotech investors with broad expertise in company building and advancing a broad range of therapeutic modalities into and through the clinic. The Board provides oversight and governance to 65LAB's strategy and operations and includes Dr. Wen Qi Ho, Therapeutics Lead, ClavystBio, Dr. Christina Isacson, Partner, Lightstone Ventures, Dr. Pei Sze Ng, Director, Leaps by Bayer, and Dr. Kim Png, Principal, Polaris Partners.

Dr. Christina Isacson, Partner, Lightstone Ventures, said: "Lightstone has long been committed to supporting the growth of Singapore's promising biotech sector, and we are thrilled at this opportunity to continue to foster and invest in the exciting drug development research coming out of the country's universities. 65LAB is a unique entity, whose key differentiator is the syndicate of seasoned global life science investors who recognize the untapped potential of Singapore's excellent base of scientific talent. We are pleased to partner with such a distinguished group of investors, who bring significant resources, experience and networks to transform these innovations into new medicines and bring them to market."

Dr. Thomas Hanke, EVP Head of Academic Partnerships at Evotec, said: "Singapore has multiple world-renowned institutions for basic research in the life sciences. Through 65LAB, we are looking forward to translating their ground-breaking research into product candidates and new company formations that will benefit patients with unmet medical needs across all modalities and therapeutic areas."