SINGAPORE – A Temasek-backed biotech investor unveiled its new research and collaboration centre in Singapore on Wednesday.

ClavystBio, which invests in biotech start-ups, accommodates four of its 11 portfolio companies at the 13,000 sq ft facility called Node 1 at Singapore Science Park in Queenstown.

The firm provides these start-ups, which are based either here or in the United States, with communal resources such as laboratories and offices.

ClavystBio chairman and Temasek head of life sciences Fidah Alsagoff said the company was set up in 2022 to help speed up the commercialisation of local life science breakthroughs to the rest of the world.

“The opening of ClavystBio’s Node 1 strengthens this mission by fostering partnerships across the industry. With the support of Temasek’s network and ecosystem, we hope to advance Singapore as a global life sciences translational hub,” he said.

One of ClavystBio’s portfolio companies, Paratus Sciences, which recently raised US$100 million (S$137 million) in a Series A funding round, said the spaces at Node 1 will enable it to focus on research and development.

Dr Lewis Hong, the head of therapeutics discovery at Paratus Sciences, said: “We not only gain access to a network of brilliant minds, but also contribute to a collective mission of translating scientific breakthroughs into human health impact.”

Node 1 also houses Polaris Partners, one of ClavystBio’s three venture capital partners, alongside Lightstone Ventures and Accelerator Life Science Partners.

ClavystBio recently partnered Lightstone Ventures, Polaris Partners and Leaps by Bayer – the corporate venture capital arm of German pharmaceutical giant Bayer – to establish 65Lab, a start-up incubator dedicated to new drug discovery and venture creation.

This initiative works in partnership with Singapore’s academic and research and development institutions such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Duke-NUS Medical School.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said at Node 1’s official opening that bringing together innovators, investors and entrepreneurs allows ClavystBio to combine various expertise and forms of capital to launch and grow life science companies based here.

“Singapore recognises that life science start-ups, supported by global venture capital, are critical engines of biomedical innovation,” he added.

“Our landscape of life science start-ups is growing both in size and vibrancy. Today, we are home to almost 500 biomedical start-ups that have attracted more than US$3 billion in venture funding in recent years.

“Start-ups here benefit from a strong ecosystem that allows them to establish cross-sector partnerships, build problem-solving communities, and expand their networks regionally and globally.”

In 2020, the Government introduced the $25 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan to support Singapore’s post-Covid-19 recovery.

This initiative focuses on four categories: health, sustainability, the digital economy and manufacturing, with biomedical sciences falling under the health category.