MARCH-APRIL , 2022 | THE HEALTH
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Intellect ’ s US $ 10m funding deal
Shedding light on antibioticsassociated diarrhea
ASIA ’ S LARGEST and fastestgrowing mental health start-up , Intellect , announced on Jan 25 , 2022 , the closing of US $ 10 million in Series A funding , bringing total funding to US $ 13 million since launching in 2020 . This is the largest Series A ever raised by a mental health start-up in Asia .
The oversubscribed round was led by New York-based HOF Capital , and welcomed new investors , including Headline , East Ventures , MS & AD Ventures , DG Daiwa Ventures , Pioneer Fund , as well as existing investor Insignia Ventures Partners .
In this round , other notable angel investors included Shopback Co-founder & CEO Henry Chan , Cathay Innovation ’ s Rajive Keshup , former Headspace VP of Engineering Neel Palrecha , Co-founder of US unicorn Forge Samvit Ramadurgam , Peak Co-founder Sagi Shorrer , Snap Inc . Director of SEA Anubhav Nayyar , Tinder & Match Group GM of SEA Gaurav Girotra , and family office funds of billionaire founders .
“ It is very clear that a growing demand for mental healthcare in Asia will surge even higher in the
GENSCRIPT Biotech Corporation ( GenScript ), the world ’ s leading life science research tools and services provider , announced on Feb 10 , 2022 , the opening of a more than 30,000-square-feet facility for highly automated protein and gene preparation services .
The state-of-the-art site marks a significant expansion of the company ’ s advanced protein and gene platforms and is designed to provide high quality , fast turnaround on products required for new vaccines and therapeutics development and innovations in life sciences .
Supported by the Singapore ’ s Economic Development Board ( EDB ), the new production site will support the Asia Pacific region and complements the current production sites in the United States and China .
The opening ceremony was held in a virtual setting inaugurated by Minister of State for Trade and Industry , and Culture , Community and Youth , Alvin Tan and accompanied by Senior Vice President and Head , Healthcare , Singapore Economic Development Board ( EDB ), Ms Goh Wan Yee .
During the ceremony , GenScript and Diagnostics Development ( DxD ) Hub , a national platform hosted by
new normal . At the same time , existing mental health benefits and mental healthcare systems are under-equipped to service this surging need at scale ,” states Theodoric Chew , Co-founder & CEO of Intellect .
“ Intellect goes beyond supporting workforces , going deeper into our broader vision of building an entirely new mental healthcare system tailored specifically for Asia . We ’ re honoured to be leading this charge with the support of investors and partners .”
The latest funds will be used to rapidly scale its offerings , team and expand across Asia , growing Intellect ’ s customers , and network of behavioural health coaches and clinical therapists . Intellect has over three million users , provides coverage in 20 countries , and is available in 15 languages .
The funding will also be used to grow the company ’ s product offering to serve the entire spectrum of mental healthcare , from self-care
the Agency for Science , Technology and Research ( A * STAR ), signed a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) to explore collaborations to build manufacturing capabilities in Singapore .
The new manufacturing facility occupies over 30,000 square feet space at Solaris @ Kallang building . The cutting-edge facility in Singapore features a high throughput platform and proprietary technology of GenScript ’ s protein production to provide higher yield with a shorter turnaround time .
“ This is a significant milestone for us as we strengthen our presence in the vibrant and innovative ecosystem in the Asia Pacific , Singapore . The new manufacturing facility will be a regional innovation and excellence
Theodoric Chew
programs to live counselling , coaching , and crisis management care .
Intellect also saw its year-on-year revenue surge by over 20-fold in 2021 , with a major uptick in enterprise clients signing on to its corporate mental health benefits solution - such as food panda , Shopback , Singtel , Kuehne & Nagel , and Schroders , amongst others - cementing itself as one of the largest and fastest-growing mental health start-ups in Asia .
These clients adopt Intellect regionally or globally and achieve best-in-class employee adoption rates of 20 to 40 per cent consistently , 10 times higher than traditional employee assistance programs and two to three times higher than other mental health platforms .
Intellect also partners with leading insurers and global benefits brokers across Asia , such as Mercer , to offer mental health solutions on a much larger scale .
GenScript ’ s state-of-art manufacturing facility in Singapore
hub in the Asia Pacific and increase the productivity of custom protein manufacturing ,” said Johnson Wang , President of GenScript Asia Pacific Division .
Dr Ray Chen , President of Life Science Group , GenScript Biotech Corporation , said : “ Singapore , the home to GenScript ’ s Asia Pacific headquarters , it is also a strategic location for us to expand our manufacturing capability to support the fast-growing biotechnology industry .
“ With the strong support from EDB , our new facility aims to be the center of a solid regional network to catalyse more collaboration , ultimately spurring more innovation and breakthrough life science .”
Goh said : “ GenScript ’ s decision to set up its new production site and business hub in Singapore is testament to our robust manufacturing infrastructure , R & D and innovation ecosystem , a strong base of biotech talent , and our excellent connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region ,” she said .
SMART AMR researchers Wei Lin Lee ( left ), Xiaoqiong Gu ( centre ) and Federica Armas ( right ).
A JOINT study by the Singapore General Hospital ( SGH ) and Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology ( SMART ), MIT ’ s research enterprise in Singapore , may have found why some patients experience diarrhea after taking the antibiotic amoxicillin-clavulanate , commonly known as Augmentin .
It is a widely prescribed antibiotic used to treat many infections , including pneumonia and urinary tract infections .
The team of researchers found that the level of gut Ruminococcaceae , a family of bacteria that plays an important role in maintaining an individual ’ s gut health , strongly impacts diarrheal outcomes following antibiotic treatment .
Dr Shirin Kalimuddin , Consultant , Department of Infectious Diseases , SGH , and Principal Investigator of the study , said : “ The problem is very real for patients who cannot take amoxicillin-clavulanate because it gives them diarrhea , even though it is an effective and affordable antibiotic for their infection .
“ Knowing why may help us identify those at risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea , and devise treatment strategies in the future to minimise or avoid such adverse effects .”
A total of 30 healthy volunteers were recruited for the study . They each received a three-day oral course of amoxicillin-clavulanate .
Results showed that Ruminococcaceae levels in the stools of study volunteers who developed diarrhea were significantly lower when compared to those who did not , both before and during treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanate .
The team further devised a simple polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ) test based on levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii , a species within the Ruminococcaceae family , that could potentially be used in clinical settings to quickly determine an individual ’ s risk of developing diarrhea with amoxicillinclavulanate treatment .
“ People respond differently to medication . Understanding this response and the ability to predict those at risk will help guide the development of point-of-care diagnostics ,” said Professor Eric J . Alm , Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT , Principal Investigator at SMART Antimicrobial Resistance ( AMR ) interdisciplinary research group , and co-corresponding author of the study .
“ While a lot of attention has been paid to how DNA influences a person ’ s response to medication , the impact of the gut microbiome on the human drug response has not been widely researched ,” said Professor Alm . — The Health