STRENGTHENING HEALTH AND BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES

The Ministry of Health (MOH)’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC) has awarded about $82 million to four research projects under the Open Fund-Large Collaborative Grant (OF-LCG) programme.

2. Since 2000, Singapore’s Health and Biomedical Sciences (HBMS) initiative has built a strong foundation of research capabilities and expanded beyond basic to translational and clinical research. In line with the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 strategic goals, HBMS efforts are aimed at developing an ecosystem for the pursuit and translation of research into knowledge, products or services that improve health outcomes and create economic value for Singapore.

Four Projects Awarded Open Fund-Large Collaborative Grants

3. The OF-LCG programme advances the study of diseases, translates clinical findings into practice and provides opportunities for international partnerships and industry collaborations. Research teams are encouraged to address five priority disease areas based on national needs and level of current scientific base in Singapore:

(i) Cancers;
(ii) Cardiovascular diseases;
(iii) Diabetes mellitus and related metabolic/endocrine conditions;
(iv) Infectious diseases; and
(v) Neurological and sense disorders.

Please refer to Annex A for details on the OF-LCG.

4. This year, the OF-LCG has been awarded to four teams. The total grant amount of about $82 million is the highest since the launch of the OF-LCG. The four projects address areas of healthcare importance to Singapore, and have strong potential to deliver health outcomes and economic value. Please refer to Annex B for more information on each project.

(i) The Singapore lYMPHoma translatiONal study (SYMPHONY). Lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer among males and sixth among females in Singapore¹. Current available therapeutic strategies have limited clinical efficacy. The programme seeks to focus on next-generation biomarkers which can be exploited for better diagnosis and prognostication as well as improved clinical response to immunotherapy.

(ii) Singapore Parkinson’s disease Translational Clinical Programme (SPARK) Phase II. Parkinson’s disease affects three in 1,000 Singaporeans above 50 years of age . With our rapidly ageing population, neurodegenerative diseases involving the brain pose a significant burden on our healthcare system. The project team will work towards identifying new drugs to improve health outcomes in Parkinson’s disease and identifying risk and protective factors so as to slow down disease progression.

(iii) Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium. Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of global cancer mortality . The Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium seeks to further its goal of transforming gastric cancer management by tackling the key clinical and scientific challenges in gastric cancer, through specific themes in precision prevention, precision therapy and identifying novel targets through innovative technologies, data science and experimental models.

(iv) Advancing Precision Medicine for Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes in Asian Populations. Cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes are leading and closely interlinked major public health challenges. The aim of the project is to better understand behavioural, environmental, genetic and other molecular factors underlying cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, focusing on the multi-ethnic Asian population of Singapore. The project seeks to translate the insights and discoveries made to clinical benefit, through improved identification and communication of risk, as well as development of evidence-based, scalable and personalised interventions.

5. NMRC will continue to strengthen the translation of ground-breaking healthcare research into solutions that address Singapore’s health challenges through the OF-LCG scheme and other grant funding programmes.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
3 APRIL 2019

[1] Source: Singapore Cancer Registry, Annual Registry Report 2015
[2] Source: National Neuroscience Institute, Published Article, 1 Sept 2018
[3] Source: Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. Lyon, France 2018

NMRC Awards Ceremony and Research Symposium 2019 - Annex A
NMRC Awards Ceremony and Research Symposium 2019 - Annex B