Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco and Dr. Subhash G. Vasudevan, Founders of SABio Pte Ltd

16 September 2011

By Ai San Yip, Horrace Owino, Vaishnavi Radhakrishnan

Photo Creative by Larry Lim, Marco Studio

 
(From Left to Right) Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, Founder, Mr. Rene Jaeggi, Managing Director and Dr. Vasudevan Subhash, Founder of SABio.

SABio (Singapore Advanced Biologics) is a biotech services start-up that focuses on design, synthesis and validation of specialised R&D biologics such as siRNA, DNA oligos and monoclonal antibodies. 

 

1. Share with us your story and the motivation behind SABio.

Subhash: I my completed PhD Biochemistry (1998) and Post Doctoral Research (1991) at Australian National University. After my Post Doc Research, I was provided with a sneak peek into the early development of the Biotech industry in Singapore during a two months stint in Singapore in 1991. I was invited to help set up an insect cell protein expression system at what is now known as the Bio-processing Technology Institute (BTI, A*STAR). At that time, BTI was an operational unit spun out of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. It was engaged intensely in building up biotechnology in Singapore. There were high level efforts to bring in laboratories from United States and Europe to Singapore.

To give an impetus to these efforts, one of the first things I did was to connect Australian Trade Organisation (AUSTrade) to Singapore as there was not much of Australian Science being represented here. I got a first-hand taste of the wider biotechnology scene in Singapore when I came with the Biosciences Manager of ANUTech. The Australian National University’s commercialization arm to explore possible opportunities.  At that time, Hammerhead Ribozyme technology was big news in Canberra and the possibility for the development of virus-resistant vegetable crops was being discussed widely. This was a potential technology that we hoped to bring to Singapore. However, that never happened. I have always had this urge to do something in the Biotechnology start-ups area. After ten years in (Australia) academia I moved to Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (Singapore) during 2003 till 2008 where I was Unit Head of Dengue Research and then as Associate Professor at the Emerging Infectious Diseases Program at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, the urge to start a company was irresistible.

Mariano: I am a Biochemist and MD.  I did not pursue Medicine Fellowship as I knew I have had the bug to be involved in biotechnology and biomedical businesses. Possibly, the greatest inspiration came from the fact that I completed my Fellowship in Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Professor Philip A. Sharp (Dr. Philip Sharp won the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology in 1993). Being exposed to the entrepreneurial culture at MIT, further strengthened my resolve to be involved in a biotech start-ups. Then, I was appointed as Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Medicine and Director of Centre for RNA Biology at Duke University in U.S. and since 2006 I have a double appointment in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore.

I have started three companies that ranged from high-risk to low-risk. My first was involved in gene therapy, Intronn Inc. (now part of VIRxSYS, Rockville MD USA), the second was Veri-Q Inc. (a Proteomics Company subsidiary, Surrey United Kingdom). SABio is my third – we realised that there was a lack of access to reagents (defined as ‘the problem’) in Singapore, especially biologics such as monoclonal antibodies, and nucleic acids. This put fellow scientists at huge disadvantage. We think SABio’s strength as a company will help bio-enterprises in Singapore.

 

2. So there is a lack of access to reagents in Singapore, but are not most biologic reagents purchased from other countries?

Subhash: There are two perspectives to the problem. I was told by a famous venture capital investor in Singapore, that you can certainly fly in “quality oysters” (an analogy used) from anywhere in the world by overnight freight. However, you cannot do the same thing over and over again with biological products because the incurring cost(s) will be too prohibitive. We also have experienced five or six weeks of experimental delay that arise from procurement of siRNA. The turnaround for service from overseas providers is the major cause of these five or six weeks of delay.

Mariano: Yes, an end-user will need to pay a high price, and five-week wait till you get one. So the bottom-line is if Singapore wants to be a top-notched biomedical hub, we should not want to lose out on the waiting time (that could incurred from procurement process). Scientists’ and researchers’ time is incredibly valuable; they want to be effective and efficient in our discovery process.

We also want to influence other start-ups with enthusiasm and be the multiplier in Singapore ... like the analogy of oysters ... in many similar ways, our feeling was to give back something to Singapore and be committed to Singapore start-up ecosystem and SABio.  

We were on-site to witness the installation and trial run of SABio’s Synthesiser residing in SingHealth Research Facility, Singapore. SABio promises to offer the shortest turnaround of R&D oligos to Asia’s researchers in genomics and proteomics.

 

3. What are some of the support you received?

Mariano: I have to reinforce that the Deans at Duke-NUS were all very supportive. They said this was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. We thought it through very carefully upfront. They connected us to the clinician networks. In the future, we hope to work with clinicians to co-apply for grants to develop products and reagents and perhaps convert some of these tests into diagnostic tests. We can bring the idea and work with clinicians and be their partners. We are a research company but a good partner for translational research.

In terms of financial and business support BioVeda Capital has been fantastic partner. We managed to raise Series A Funds. BioVeda Capital provides us more than cash; they are great partners and board members. You will choose a VC firm just like they choose you. BioVeda Capital has lots of experience in working with worldwide clients and relationship links to United States and China principals. And they were very compelled by our business model. They bring ideas and bring ways to make SABio better.

The interaction with SingHealth was also a good one. It was the interest of SingHealth to see how they can help start-ups to flourish in this clinical translational campus.

Editors’ Note: SABio has a support from an investment from BV Healthcare II, a life science fund managed by BioVeda Capital and an equity-investment from SingHealth.

 

4. Who are your first customer and market?

Mariano: Broadly, any researcher in Singapore. We have a curious crowd from Duke-NUS. This is a business that researchers and scientists will talk to each other about the quality and credibility of the services that they received. Our hope is that SABio will have great supporters because of our quality. We have good friends in the researcher networks. As our terrain is being set up, we will pursue an organic growth strategy.  

Subhash: siRNA services and monoclonal antibodies are about 40 Billion dollar market. The potential for several bio-therapeutical applications in the next decade will be interesting. For example, you might have targeted-specific small molecules and designer siRNAs used for eye infections (age-related macular degeneration) and interesting cocktail formulations for respiratory conditions. You will see more upside in those localised, targeted and sustained siRNA delivery. Some breakthroughs in formulations and applications must happen.

 

5. Is there any proprietary technology in Oligos manufacturing?

Mariano: We are going to solve the problem of access to the most commonly used antibodies and DNA products so even though we have some proprietary technology in the form of chemistry, our strengths mostly lie in know-how. You do not need fancy qualifications to sell antibodies and oligos to the research market (it is a different story if you are going into the bio-therapeutics market). The difference with our offering is that we are not only going synthesize these things, but are also going to work closely with our customers as they conduct their experiments. Some people blindly do the experiments without knowing that there are a lot of issues which you need to be aware of and this is where we feel we can actually help. We have extensive experience in these areas, Subhash being more on the antibody side and myself on the DNA side.

Subhash: Those are the kinds of things that we can bring to the table and I think the VCs see that. You cannot just get a basic biologist to do this. The technology that is here requires a lot more biological expertise in handling clones and animals for example. Furthermore, we have found an outstanding partner for our initial operations through the recommendation of a very senior scientist with massive experince in Antibody technology. This partner will support us at first but in the long run, our goal is to do everything within SABio and Singapore. It will take a while to develop everything in house but we plan to do it in parallel.

6. If there is one word of advice you can give to aspiring technopreneurs who are looking to start their business in the biomedical industry, what would that be?

Subhash: Go out there and try. For example, NUS has all these entrepreneurship support schemes and programs in place for entrepreneurs. So I would advise aspiring technopreneurs to get the right team and try their hand at it.

Mariano: I would like to stress on having the right team. When I started my first company, I only knew my partner distantly through research. He was a good researcher but a disastrous head of company. The VCs were wise enough to insist on having the company in Durham so I could be close enough to check on the operations frequently. I did not know that he was a disaster until we started running the company. Therefore I would advise people to make sure they know their team members really well before committing to starting a company with them.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Ai San Yip at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Checking in with Mr. David N. Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, BioMers Pte Ltd

By Ai San Yip

Edited by Cheryl Ma

Photo courtesy of BioMers

12 September 2011

We ran an interview article on BioMers in March 2010. About a year and half later, Genewired.com checks-in again with Mr. David Edwards, CEO.

 

BioMers's flagship product - SimpliClear.

1. BioMers is cited as an example of a successful local technology start-up by Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong in the National Day Rally Speech. Outline the key points and significant progress.

BioMers has made a great deal of progress since GeneWired last spoke to the company in March 2010. The team has made significant leaps forward in important areas such as product development, clinical and in-market validation of the flagship product SimpliClear.

Regarding SimpliClear development, the team has completed a number of developments that led to test marketing of SimpliClear. During 2010, the team has succeeded in building a clear rectangular wire and a customisation process. Together with our previous clear wires, we have achieved a ‘next-generation’ aesthetic orthodontic brace system that is designed to deliver not only a clear aesthetic benefit, but more importantly a high performing clear orthodontic appliance that is effective in treating a broad range of patient cases – from simple to complex. In our opinion, the combination of performance and clear aesthetics is an exciting breakthrough in orthodontics, and has the potential to change the way doctors and patients alike think about cosmetic orthodontic appliances.

At the beginning of 2011, we launched test markets of the SimpliClear clear brace system in Singapore and the United States. After which, we gained more experience with the product’s performance and acceptability of product in changing market conditions, thereby extracting real business value. The results that we achieved have been very encouraging in terms of product’s performance in-clinic and patient satisfaction.

Personally, I shared a vagrant optimism that the some of us were making real progress as a team. In the last few months, we sat down and understood on how opportunities and markets react into our initial plans. So, building on the experience gained over the months, we have now directed our focus to allow for the commercial expansion of our flagship SimpliClear brand and product. We feel strongly that the cosmetic orthodontic market remains under-penetrated. As such, we are currently building our commercial and manufacturing capacity and the business process capabilities required to support rapid sales expansion. Our first objective is to expand our test markets in Singapore and the U.S., followed by expansion to other geographical markets.

From a funding standpoint, we are working with our Venture Capital partner Nanostart Asia (the subsidiary of Nanostart AG, a publicly traded German VC firm specialised in investments in nanotechnologies) to close the Series-A Funding and subsequently, secure a Series-B investment. In fact, we are very pleased by the strong interest generated by our Series-B offering.

2. You have extensive experience in global roles in U.S., Europe and Asia, what led you to BioMers (and Singapore)?

At the end of last year, I was approached by one of the investors in the business. I was intrigued by the opportunity, from the very first conversation. I had spent the last 12 years of my career in a number of leadership roles in large multinational healthcare companies like Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb. When I looked back on my experience, I realised that some of the most exciting and satisfying roles had been those that involved breakthrough technologies, new innovations and high growth opportunities.

One of my first roles in Johnson & Johnson was to lead a ‘start-up like’ of Consumer Nutritionals business in Europe, which was a new business at the time. We had the opportunity to create a business from its very inception. Though we were part of a larger multinational corporation, we were treated very much as a start-up. We were created as an entirely new business unit, focused on introducing a revolutionary new bio-active that would ultimately create an entirely new category of cholesterol lowering food under the Benecol brand. It was an exciting role and one in which I gained my first taste of a start-up environment. I also had the opportunity to lead J&J’s Asia Pacific Vision Care business which at the time was setting the pace for technological and marketing innovation, and growth, in its industry. Looking back on those experiences and how much I enjoyed leading those businesses, it was obvious to me that the convergence of healthcare technology, innovation, growth, global scope and the early stage nature of the business offered by the BioMers opportunity represented an interesting proposition. 

 

3. Do you have any thoughts or other considerations? 

Yes, and certainly. I performed my own due diligence on the company and the opportunity. Firstly, the category in which BioMers’ flagship product SimpliClear competes is one of the most dynamic categories in orthodontics with strong fundamentals for continued growth and innovation. From a technology standpoint, the platform technology underpinning SimpliClear represents a remarkable breakthrough in material science that delivers a unique benefit – the combination of clear aesthetics and excellent performance – with the potential to postively impact the standard of care in the category. The technology was also supported by strong IPs which help to ensure the competitive advantage of our product into the future.

The quality of the team was also an important consideration. When I met the team, I was impressed by not only the domain knowledge, know-how and competence they had, but also by their vision for the company and the business, their passion and their resilience. It was easy to recognize the potential of the company with such a strong team at its core. Our lead investor, Nanostart, also impressed me by their passion and commitment to the business. From the very start, I felt a good chemistry with both the management team and the investors and knew that this was a team that I could work with successfully.

Finally, the fact that the business was Singapore-based was a plus as well. Firstly, I was already located in Singapore at the time which made the personal transition easier. I also had spent a number of years working in Medtech in Singapore and understood the benefits that Medtech companies in Singapore enjoy – access to research and talent, a business friendly environment, excellent infrastructure, support by the government in developing Singapore as a world class Life Sciences / BioTech / Medtech centres in general, and more specifically the government’s support in developing home-grown high-technology companies in that space. In addition, being based in Singapore provides the company with close proximity to the large and rapidly developing markets in Asia.

As I look back on the last five months, I am pleased with the progress that we have made and are making. More importantly, I remain more excited than ever with the opportunity that we have to build BioMers into a world class company at the forefront of innovation in material science applied to medical technology. We are very focused on building SimpliClear as the first important step in that direction.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ai San Yip at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Checking in with Dr. Jonathan Obaje, Research Director, Urah Transdermal Pte Ltd

By Erwin Chan

Photo by Ai San Yip

01 September 2011

We ran an interview article on Dr. Obaje in February 2011.

Six months later, Genewired.com checks-in again with Dr Obaje, to learn more about his progress, challenges and vision for the future.

 

Urah Transdermal 8% Glucosamine Cream with Omega-3 formulation is now widely available in NTUC Unity pharmacies and major hospitals.

 

1. What updates or progress has been significant over the last few months?

There has been many developments at Urah. An arrangement has been made to setup R&D at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) @ Innovation Center. This is a great opportunity as it is a good space for Urah Transdermal to begin expansion and work on future products.

UrahTransdermal is also expanding in terms of demand. We have secured shelf space in local pharmacies like NTUC Unity stores. Urah Transdermal technology and products are increasingly being trusted by many medical professionals. Urah products are now being carried by many hospitals in most of the countries we now operate. For example, in Singapore, our product is now in many hospitals including Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, KK Women & Children Hospital, etc. This has also increased the demand of our products. We are seeing a need to increase our production capacity.

For overseas markets, we are seeing more opportunities opening up and the growth of Urah Transdermal in new markets. We are currently at different levels of discussion with business partners in Russia, Australia, Iran, Thailand and China. In addition, we are pursuing expansion drives for our current markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Nigeria and South Africa. 

 

2. What challenges do you face in the business and science of Urah Transdermal?

Our challenges are on funding and manpower needs that have arisen from the growth of Urah Transdermal. These are good problems but they will need to be addressed immediately. Also, these problems are also tied closely together.

Funding to help in the expansion of operations and to take up opportunities are needed. While there are several government grants available, it is often not easy to meet all of their criteria and to find the time to write up these grants. It would be lovely to have someone to help in developing the grant proposal and overseeing the implementation of the grant at Urah Trandermal.

In addition, Urah Transdermal is seeking more experienced Business Development managers, who understand the international market and the players, to join our Business team. This individual would be instrumental in the business operations and the expansion of Urah into new markets. It is a challenge to find a person that shares the same drive, passion and business instincts.

 

3. How do you see the future of Urah Transdermal shaping up?

There are exciting and interesting developments planned for Urah Transdermal. We see an opportunity to work together with other complementors in the market. Companies with compounds who need a transdermal delivery vehicle are approaching us. In addition, companies with medical devices are also approaching. The pharmaceutical industry is also diversifying and we see that as a strong indication that the market is evolving into a blend of pharmaceuticals with medical devices. This presents great opportunities for companies to offer better health products with lower risks to patients. And Urah Transdermal platform is a niche at the centre of this exciting new development.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Erwin Chan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it