Nurturing Win Win Win Partnerships

Singapore is making significant progress through Phase II of the National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme, which is slated for completion in 2025. Thus far, it has reached a milestone of recruiting over 80,000 consented participants and completed 50,000 genomes sequenced as part of the PRECISE-SG100K study. Dr Zheng Weiling, Senior Business Development Lead, PRECISE, attributes these achievements to the collective efforts of like-minded partners.

The PRECISE-SG100K study is a partnership comprising researchers at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Eye Research Institute, the National Heart Centre Singapore, their associated healthcare partners as well as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). 

Additionally, PRECISE also proactively engages with multi-national corporations and startups through Government agencies such as Economic Development Board (EDB) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), as well as national translational platforms and catalysts.

What is the significance of partners in the National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme?

Precision medicine is a new and emerging area—no one has all the knowledge and capability to do everything. Therefore, it is valuable to find institutions and companies with unique technologies, deep knowledge and rich experience to partner us in this journey. It is through leveraging these technologies and insights that we got to accelerate our NPM programme, learn from best industry practices, and maximise our resources for impact.

Although much focus right now may be on the PRECISE-SG100K study, we also recognise that the value of precision medicine goes beyond the NPM programme. Precision medicine potentially offers an opportunity for us to improve the health and well-being of the Singapore population through innovative new products and business solutions. That is why when we foster partnerships, we are not only thinking about SG10K_Health or the PRECISE-SG100K study (SG10K_Health is an earlier research collaboration across multiple institutions in Singapore comprising 10,000 whole genome sequences from healthy consented volunteers). Instead, we take into consideration how these partnerships can help sustain current efforts in the long run by translating insights from these studies into clinical pathways, to enable improved patient outcomes, better diagnoses and the development of products that have real-world impact on patient outcomes.

From SG10K_Health to PRECISE-SG100K, what are some differences in the roster of partners and the structure of partnerships?

SG10K_Health was instrumental as a proof-of-concept for the PRECISE-SG100K study, which is scaled-up significantly to 100,000 consented participants in the PRECISE-SG100K study. At the time of SG10K_Health, it was the first-of-its-kind in Singapore. With a mere sample size of 10,000, the cohort study provided a chance for PRECISE to smooth out operational and collaborative details with our academic, industry and ecosystem collaborators. More significantly, this process allowed us to align our goals, build mutual trust with both public and private partners in the ecosystem and gain a better understanding of one another’s strengths, paving the way for a seamless transition to drive the PRECISE-SG100K study.

In Phase II of the NPM programme, many of the partners from SG10K_Health continued to be part of PRECISE-SG100K—and some even took on bigger roles. One such example is Illumina. In SG10K_Health, we explored several work streams with them, including knowledge transfer, experience sharing and technology trials on enterprise-grade data exchange platforms. That formed the basis for designing a structure that features more streamlined communications for genomics analysis in the PRECISE-SG100K study.

What is the secret formula to win-win-win partnerships with various partners?

There are a few things we look for in our partners. The first being how they can value-add to what we are currently doing and hope to achieve in future. Often, this translates into superior technology and know-how in their respective domains. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, sustainability of our collaborations for the road ahead is important to us. Naturally, we are keen to work with collaborators who are ready to commit for a longer term. For example, an overseas company, with the intention to set up operations in Singapore, or possibly use Singapore as a base to expand into the regional, or even global market.

Finally and most critically, there needs to be an alignment of collaboration objectives. Mutually beneficial outcomes will always underpin every successful partnership. For that reason, PRECISE believes in taking time to establish good rapport with our partners while we advance the NPM programme for the interests of Singapore, our healthcare system and our population.

Referencing Illumina’s example—they were a market leader in sequencing technology in the United States (US) and had a large presence in Singapore too. In supporting Phase II of the NPM programme, they sought for a collaborator in Singapore to provide the last mile delivery in Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) on our shores. That is where NovogeneAIT Genomics, a local startup, came into the picture as a service partner. This three-way partnership created a win-win-win partnership for Illumina, NovogeneAIT Genomics and PRECISE.

Similarly, in another collaboration, LifeStrands Genomics, a Singaporean laboratory specialising in clinical and translational genomics, joined forces with Ambry Genetics, a well-established clinical genetic testing company in the US to provide clinical genetic testing services in Singapore. This partnership leveraged LifeStrands Genomics’ deep clinical diagnostic knowledge and strong business network in Asia.

LifeStrands Genomics and Ambry Genetics enjoy a synergistic partnership—LifeStrands Genomics acquired clinical genetic testing know-how while Ambry Genetics mitigated some of the risks associated with entering a new market, in this case, Singapore.

Together, they provide genetic testing for three ongoing Clinical Implementation Pilots (CIPs) for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia, familial and hereditary cancers, and primary glomerular diseases. These CIPs, supported by PRECISE, facilitate the incorporation of genetic and genomic testing into clinical pathways to improve the health of Singaporeans in these areas as part of the NPM programme.

We are over the halfway mark for PRECISE-SG100K population-level genomic sequencing. What can existing and prospective partners look forward to in the next phase of the NPM programme?

PRECISE’s Business Development team is lean relative to our aspirations. Thus, it would have been impossible for PRECISE to drive precision medicine forward alone if not for the support of our ecosystem partners like EDB, EnterpriseSG, A*STAR and the Biomedical Sciences Industry Partnership Office (BMSIPO), when it comes to industry outreach and engagement. It is encouraging to have so many diverse partners, each with their own specialised domain, come together and contribute towards Singapore’s precision medicine journey.

Notably, with SG10K_Health and the PRECISE-SG100K study, we are creating a resource of genetic insights from the NPM dataset. This comprehensive genomic dataset will help researchers understand the behavioral, environmental and genetic factors driving chronic disease in Singapore, and to translate these insights into improved health strategies for Singapore.

With preparation for NPM Phase III underway, it is not hard to imagine that possibilities of novel clinical pathways, better risk stratification, more accurate diagnoses and more timely and appropriate care for patients will also increase exponentially. Add to that, we have a growing community passionate about advancing better healthcare for Singapore—so these are exciting times.