SINGAPORE | 7th July 2020

Singapore-based biomedical company, Proteona, is pioneering the use of single cell proteogenomics to improve clinical outcomes in cancer. Proteona is a spin-off from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

It has recently been selected by the Spinoff Prize as one of the top 44 science-based spin-off companies from around the world. The Spinoff Prize is established by Nature Research in partnership with the Merck Group. The award highlights spin-offs who take top-quality scientific research to the market and make a positive impact.

Proteona is recognized for addressing the clinical need in multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that is difficult to treat. Differences in drug response between patients and tumour clones within the same patient poses a great challenge in choosing the right treatment. Proteona leverages on single cell proteogenomics and artificial intelligence-assisted algorithms to measure tumour cell diversity in patient biopsy, which can help clinicians choose the best treatment for individual patient.

"It is a great honour to be recognized by the Spinoff Prize award, issued by Nature research, who represents the top scientific standard, and by Merck, an industry leader well known for its accelerator programs and technology innovation." Said Dr Andreas Schmidt, CEO of Proteona.

"It adds credibility to the science and business we are doing at Proteona, and provides momentum for us to achieve the next milestones. This comes just at the right moment for our upcoming fundraising campaign, which will be launched in a few weeks' time."

Proteona is one of the three Asia-based companies who made it to the prestigious list.

The Spinoff Prize application was open to all spinoff companies worldwide from fields of pharmaceuticals, agriculture, chemicals and digital technology. The companies were selected by a judging panel consisting of experts from Nature Research, Merck, and M Ventures. All companies were evaluated in five criteria: the science, the opportunity, the plan, the team, and the impact.

Proteona is committed to improving the clinical outcome of multiple myeloma. Proteona has recently been selected by Amgen as part of the Start-ups Meets Pharma program to improve multiple myeloma treatment selection.