Duke-NUS Receives $1.5M to Advance AI-Powered Antifibrotic Drug Discovery Platform
核心洞察
65LAB (搜索) has awarded $1.5 million to Professor Enrico Petretto at Duke-NUS Medical School (搜索) to advance a breakthrough Systems Genetics platform for developing first-in-class antifibrotic therapies.
The platform integrates computational biology with AI algorithms and quantum computing to target lung and kidney diseases that currently lack effective treatments.
Pre-clinical studies demonstrate at least 50% reduction in fibrosis (搜索) using newly discovered molecules that block the WWP2 (搜索) gene, a key driver of tissue scarring.
65LAB (搜索) has awarded US$1.5 million to Professor Enrico Petretto at Duke-NUS Medical School (搜索) to advance a revolutionary drug discovery platform targeting fibrotic diseases. The Systems Genetics platform aims to deliver first-in-class antifibrotic therapies for lung and kidney diseases—conditions that currently have no effective treatment options.
The innovative platform integrates computational biology with Artificial Intelligence algorithms and is being enhanced with emerging quantum computing approaches. This funding represents a significant investment in Singapore's biotech ecosystem, with 65LAB (搜索)—a unique partnership of global investors including ClavystBio (搜索), Leaps by Bayer (搜索), Lightstone Ventures, Polaris Partners, and life science company Evotec—leading the initiative.
Addressing Critical Unmet Medical Need
Fibrosis (搜索), characterized by the formation of damaged and scarred tissues, can lead to organ failure across multiple conditions. The medical burden is substantial: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (搜索) affects an estimated 1 in 10,000 people in Asia-Pacific, while chronic kidney disease (搜索) is projected to affect one in four residents in Singapore by 2035.
Professor Petretto's innovation directly addresses this unmet need by identifying molecules that can potentially be developed into new antifibrotic drugs (搜索). "We are heartened by the results of our pre-clinical studies, which show at least a 50 percent reduction in fibrosis (搜索) in scarred tissues treated with our newly discovered molecules," said Professor Enrico Petretto, Director of Duke-NUS' Centre for Computational Biology.
Breakthrough WWP2 Target Discovery
The platform builds on Professor Petretto's previous discovery of WWP2 (搜索), a key gene driving tissue fibrosis (搜索) in multiple conditions, including lung, heart, and kidney disease. This discovery was made using his pioneering Systems Genetics approach, which has since been enhanced with AI capabilities for large-scale screening.
"These compounds work by blocking the activity of a key gene that drives tissue scarring in various diseases," Professor Petretto explained. His team has integrated Artificial Intelligence for high-throughput in silico screening, allowing them to analyze more than 15 billion molecules. The platform is being further enhanced with quantum computing integration.
Dr. Chen Huimei, Principal Research Scientist at Duke-NUS' Centre for Computational Biology and co-Principal Investigator, emphasized the platform's efficiency: "Using our computational platform, our team can quickly identify optimal drug targets for complex diseases. We can also widen our candidate pool, improving our chances of discovering molecules that can effectively block the WWP2 (搜索) gene."
Comprehensive Funding and Commercialization Strategy
The 65LAB (搜索) award is supplemented by a US$390,000 investment from Duke-NUS' early-stage innovation fund and incubation programme, LIVE Ventures, which helps bridge the gap between academic discovery and commercial development. 65LAB Expert-in-Residence Stephen Courtney will provide venture-building guidance to develop a commercialization strategy and advance the project toward company formation.
Professor Petretto's commercialization efforts are supported by Duke-NUS' Centre for Technology and Development, which is protecting the novel drug targets and new molecular entities through strategic patent filings. The team aims to work with partners to test and develop their small-molecule inhibitors (搜索) into antifibrotic drugs (搜索) for clinical testing.
Industry Impact and Future Prospects
The project was selected through a competitive evaluation process and received unanimous support from 65LAB (搜索)'s investors and partners. Dr. Pei-Sze Ng, Chair of 65LAB Joint Steering Committee and Investment Director at Leaps by Bayer (搜索), highlighted the broader mission: "By combining world-class academic research with targeted funding and industry expertise, we're not just accelerating drug discovery; we're actively fostering the growth of Singapore's biotech venture ecosystem and bringing innovative therapies closer to patients who desperately need them."
Associate Professor Christopher Laing, Vice-Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Duke-NUS, noted the platform's broader potential: "This project could bring a new therapy to market to treat patients with chronic diseases marked by fibrosis (搜索). It is also an affirmation of a robust platform for AI-driven target discovery, which promises more investible opportunities in the future."
This represents the second major award from 65LAB (搜索), following a US$1.5 million grant to Associate Professor Lena Ho in July 2024 for developing microproteins into therapeutic targets for chronic inflammation treatment.