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Bayer and NHCS to set up an explorative center for cardiovascular studies in Singapore

17 December 2020 | News

With a S$5.4million contribution from Bayer, the 5-year commitment aims to boost patient-centricity in R&D by generating and integrating high-quality Asian patient data into early clinical research to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) management

Photo Credit: Freepik

Photo Credit: Freepik

Bayer and National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) on 17 Dec 2020 announced that they have entered into a 5-year collaboration agreement to set up a “Center of Excellence for Explorative Cardiovascular Studies” with the aim of boosting patient-centricity in research and development (R&D) and improving treatment outcomes in cardiovascular disease (CVD) management. Combining NHCS’ vast experience in managing Asian CVD patients and clinical research and Bayer’s expertise in pharmaceutical R&D, the Center will generate and integrate high-quality patient data into early clinical research which will allow a better understanding of the underlying biology of CVDs. The results could potentially lead to future targeted therapies to address unmet medical needs in defined patient populations. Bayer will contribute S$5.4 million (approx. EUR3.4 million) towards the set up of the Center.  

Current R&D into CVD does not take into account the diverse characteristics of Asian CVD patients. Reliable data and standardized approaches in understanding disease patterns including risk profiles among heart diseases or stroke patients are critical to developing more effective CVD therapies.  

“Our collaboration in this initiative will open up possibilities for other Asian centers to contribute, collaborate and expand the collective knowledge and expertise on cardiovascular disease management. This will accelerate the development of more effective therapies to better manage and treat Asian CVD patients,” said Professor Carolyn Lam, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, NHCS who is also the Principal Investigator of the Center.

The collaboration will see researchers from NHCS and Bayer working together over the next 5 years. The Center will address three key areas of research: 

  1. Continuous generation of new data and analysis of existing data of CVD patients and healthy individuals, for early research studies;
  2. Deep understanding of the underlying disease biology in humans to identify, based on mechanism, specific patient groups that can benefit from targeted therapies;
  3. Exploring the pharmacological potential of a candidate cardiovascular drug via explorative in-human studies to validate biology and demonstrate efficacy. 

To date, Bayer has invested more than S$27 million into research projects on Asian prevalent diseases (oncology and CVD) in Singapore. In particular, over the last 4 years, Bayer has invested approximately S$6.1 million in understanding the Asian phenotype of heart failure with ASIAN-HF. 

Bayer has ensured that the Asia Pacific population is well-represented in its R&D activities, with the number of ongoing clinical trials spanning oncology and cardiovascular indications conducted in the Asia Pacific more than doubling from 21 in 2007 to 50 in 2019, out of which 22 of them are conducted in Singapore.

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