Mr. Kit Yong is the co-founder of Forte Biotech, a Singapore-based agritech startup developing rapid, point-of-care molecular diagnostics for aquaculture.

Forte Biotech was founded in 2021. The concept behind RAPID was inspired by the founders’ experiences working with farmers in Vietnam, as well as insights from their own family businesses. Having witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by farmers, their families, and their livelihoods, the team remains committed to developing solutions that can make a meaningful and lasting impact.

In this episode, Kit shares how Forte Biotech was founded to address a critical but overlooked problem in shrimp farming: catastrophic losses due to undetected disease outbreaks. He explains how the company built a portable isothermal amplification platform and proprietary DNA extraction chemistry capable of handling challenging shrimp samples, enabling farmers to conduct reliable, onsite pathogen detection without complex laboratory infrastructure.

Host: Aakash Naresh Kumar

Editors: Dillon Chew, Shamieraah Jamal, Vasilina Gedzun, Hana Maldivita Tambrin

Timestamp

00:00 Meet Kit Yong

02:33 No Manual for Startups

04:09 Why Forte Bio Started

06:53 Net Zero and Farm Impact

09:35 Rapid DNA Extraction Breakthrough

11:57 Sample Degradation and False Negatives

14:44 Major Shrimp Diseases Explained

18:26 Bridging Farmers and Scientists

20:18 Portable Hardware and Isothermal Tech

21:19 Balancing Cost Accuracy

21:55 Rapid Hardware Overview

22:52 On Farm Reliability Lessons

24:53 Scaling Across Southeast Asia Markets

25:46 Regulation And Local Partners

31:09 Building An Agile Team

33:40 Diagnostics And Food Security

35:57 Milestones Profitability Goals

36:47 Science Communication For Impact

Dr. Edison Liu is a medical doctor turned cancer geneticist, whose work focuses on cancer genomics, breast cancer biology, and translational medicine. He has held senior leadership roles in biomedical research institutions in the United States and Asia, as the founding executive director of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and later the president and CEO of the Jackson Laboratory, one of the world's leading genetics research institutions. Along the way, he helped shape Singapore's biomedical landscape, led genomics research through crises like SARS, and expanded global position medicine efforts across Asia and North America.

In Part 2, Dr. Edison Liu covers covers accountability and KPIs for Singapore’s biomedical initiative and how the 2003 SARS crisis validated translational research and GIS’s role, leading to recognition, embedding in MOH pandemic planning, and expanded work on H1N1/H5N1, Chikungunya, and Dengue. He shares that Singapore engineered healthcare as a discovery engine that supports economic welfare through pandemic control, precision medicine, and healthy aging, contrasting Singapore’s efficient population-based system with the US. He describes Singapore’s planned hospital/research cluster model versus evolving academic medical centers in the US, then explains leaving GIS after 11 years after developing successors. He recounts leading Jackson Laboratory’s transformation from 2012, scaling revenues and endowment and expanding campuses internationally, and emphasizes leadership traits (risk-taking, humility, learning), self-sufficiency in training, PhD reform, and Singapore’s bilingual role bridging a “two-systems” world while noting small size can enable global excellence.

Host: John Joson Ng

Editors: Dillon Chew, Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Shamieraah Jamal, Vasilina Gedzun

Chapters: 

02:40 KPI and doubts

05:25 Health as Economic Engine

09:50 Knowing When to Step Down

13:10 Why join JAX

14:01 Scaling JAX Globally

18:15 Leadership Traits for Scientists

21:10 Rethinking the PhD in today’s era

26:10 Singapore and Asia's Biotech Future

Dr. Edison Liu is a medical doctor turned cancer geneticist, whose work focuses on cancer genomics, breast cancer biology, and translational medicine. He has held senior leadership roles in biomedical research institutions in the United States and Asia, as the founding executive director of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and later the president and CEO of the Jackson Laboratory, one of the world's leading genetics research institutions. Along the way, he helped shape Singapore's biomedical landscape, led genomics research through crises like SARS, and expanded global position medicine efforts across Asia and North America.

In this episode, Dr. Edison Liu shares his journey from being motivated from childhood by medicine, then pivoting into basic science late in training after frustration with empiric cancer care and inspiration from oncogene discoveries, leading to work at UCSF with Nobel laureate J. Michael Bishop. He explains how clinical experience shaped his research questions, how he balanced lab discovery with focused clinical work and molecular trials, and how leading a 1,200-person NCI division taught institutional-scale leadership. Recruited to Singapore by Philip Yeo and others, Liu chose functional and transcriptional genomics over sequencing alone, built GIS’s collaborative culture, recruited fearless, high-performing, non-“jerk” talent, and empowered young leaders during events like SARS, helping establish preeminence within a decade.

Host: John Joson Ng

Editors: Dillon Chew, Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Shamieraah Jamal, Vasilina Gedzun

Chapters: 

02:18 Childhood Doctor Dream

06:00 Deep Dive into Molecular Biology

09:40 The value of being a Clinician Scientist 

15:00 Juggling Clinic Lab And Trials

19:50 Recruited to Singapore

23:00 Leading GIS and Recruiting the right talent

29:40 Culture of GIS

Dr. Lewis Hong is the Vice President of Paratus Sciences, a biotech company uncovering novel therapeutics by studying the extreme biology of bats. With a background spanning genomics research, pigmentation genetics at Stanford, and leadership roles in translational sciences at MSD, Lewis brings deep scientific and industry expertise to this pioneering field.

In this episode, Lewis shares how Paratus was founded to explore bats as a unique model for human health. He explains how the company built a large-scale bat genomics and bioinformatics platform which combines global sample collection, industrial sequencing, and a powerful knowledge graph, to identify high-impact therapeutic targets.

Lewis highlights Paratus’ two lead focus areas:

• Immunology & inflammation, featuring theirASC inflammasome inhibitor program now entering IND-enabling studies;

• Cardiometabolism, inspired by bats’ remarkablemetabolic resilience and cardiac performance.

He also discusses the challenges of scaling bat genomics, the role of academic partnerships, building an R&D team in Singapore, and the broader trajectory of Singapore’s biotech ecosystem. Lewis closes with practical advice for scientists entering biotech, emphasizing resilience, long-term thinking, and the importance of strong mentors and collaborators.

Host: Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar

Editors: Shamieraah Jamal, Vasilina Gedzun, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew

Timestamps

01:07 Introduction

01:28 Early Career Journey

06:20 Transition to Industry

10:35 Bat Biology & Drug Discovery

16:28 Scaling Bat Genomics

20:58 Pursuing ASC2 as a Therapeutic Target

23:43 Future Directions & Partnerships

34:52 Advice for Aspiring Biotech Professionals

39:16 Closing Remarks

Dr. Goh Wei Jiang is the Co-founder and CEO of CraftHealth, a pioneering Singapore-based startup revolutionizing personalized medicine through 3D printing. With a background in pharmacy and a PhD-MBA from NUS, Dr. Goh brings both scientific expertise and commercial insight to the forefront of MedTech innovation. Drawing on his clinical experience and translational research, he co-founded CraftHealth to solve a real-world challenge: simplifying polypharmacy and improving drug compliance through customizable, on-demand medications.

In this episode, Dr. Goh Wei Jiang shares his journey from hospital pharmacist to a Healthtech founder. Motivated by the challenge of polypharmacy and the pill burden faced by patients, Dr. Goh and his co-founder developed a 3D printing platform that enables personalized medicine—combining multiple drugs into a single, tailored pill with customized release profiles.

He walks us through the early ideation phase, shaped by his experiences in Stanford Biodesign, GRIP, Lean Launchpad, and other innovation ecosystems, and how they tested their first 3D printed pill using a small grant. Dr. Goh explains how CraftHealth's proprietary platform integrates hardware, software, and material science to create a modular, scalable approach to medication production.

Dr. Goh also explores real-world applications: from improving precision dosing in pediatric or renal patients to enabling compounding pharmacies and supplement companies to rapidly prototype and personalize products. He discusses regulatory challenges, automation, hospital partnerships, and long-term visions for decentralised drug manufacturing. Finally, he shares his reflections on entrepreneurship, emphasising the importance of customer validation and building what people are willing to pay for.

Host: Dillon Chew

Editors: Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew

Chapters:

• 01:15 – Dr. Goh’s Background & Identifying the Problem of Polypharmacy

• 08:50 – CraftHealth’s 3D Printing Platform (Hardware, Software, Materials, Data)

• 13:15 – Use Cases

• 15:15 – Addressing Challenges, Regulatory & Commercial Fit

• 24:00 – Expansion and growth strategies

• 34:00 – Vision for Decentralized Drug Manufacturing and Closing

Dr. Abbas Sahili is the CTO of Singzyme, a biotechnology company pioneering next-generation bioconjugation technologies. With a strong background in biochemistry and structural biology, Abbas brings deep scientific expertise and entrepreneurial vision to the field of precision medicine. His transition from academia to biotech leadership is marked by a commitment to developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that are more efficient, effective, and accessible. Under his leadership, Singzyme has developed a proprietary platform leveraging Peptide Asparaginyl Ligase (PAL) technology, setting a new standard in ADC manufacturing and performance.

In this episode, Dr. Abbas Sahili walks us through his unique journey from academic research in structural biology to founding Singzyme, a cutting-edge biotech startup. He shares the motivations that led him to pivot from lab-based research to real-world therapeutic development and the founding story of Singzyme.

Dr. Sahili breaks down complex concepts like antibody-drug conjugates and bioconjugation in a way that’s easy to understand. He discusses Singzyme’s PAL technology, a novel enzymatic platform that offers significant advantages over traditional methods, particularly in oncology and diagnostic imaging. He explains how PAL improves efficiency and precision in linking payloads to antibodies, unlocking new possibilities in targeted therapies and radiodiagnostics.

He also sheds light on the operational and strategic challenges faced by a young biotech company and outlines how Singzyme is overcoming them through innovation, industry partnerships, and a strong vision. Looking ahead, Abbas discusses the potential for expanding beyond cancer into other areas like autoimmune and infectious diseases, and the roadmap for product development and partnerships.

Host: Dillon Chew Editors: Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew

• 01:10 Dr. Sahili’s Background and Academic Journey
• 04:30 Transition from Research to Entrepreneurship
• 07:00 Founding Story of Singzyme
• 10:15 Overview of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs)
• 13:45 What Makes PAL Technology Unique
• 17:30 Challenges in Traditional Bioconjugation Methods
• 21:00 Application of PAL in Radiodiagnostics
• 24:45 Singzyme’s Milestones Since 2021
• 28:30 Partnerships and Industry Collaboration
• 32:15 Future Expansion Beyond Oncology
• 36:00 Roadmap for the Next 3–5 Years
• 40:20 Advice for Young Scientists and Aspiring Founders

Dr. Hoa Giang is the Co-founder and Data Science Lead of Gene Solutions. His background boasts a broad range of experience in the global therapeutics industry. His technical background includes computational biology, bioinformatics analysis and understanding genetic interactions and how they affect the cellular functions. This experience and immense knowledge inform his mindful and robust approach to founding Gene Solutions. Hoa’s experience spans the globe having lived, studied and worked in Vietnam and USA.

In this episode, Hoa shares his journey of how he moved to the USA to pursue an advanced degree in computational biology. Starting from having an interest in biotech, he also shares how he was able to work with Professor Jun Hyong Kim at the University of Pennsylvania and broaden his expertise to bioinformatics. This knowledge helped him to develop new methods of combining wet lab protocol and dry lab analysis for next generation sequencing (NGS). He goes on to mention that he is very passionate about making new technology available to all and thus brought these new novel methods of NGS back to Vietnam in the form of Gene Solutions. In this episode, Hoa also shares about the groundbreaking work being done at Gene Solutions, including their way of staying ahead of competition while aiming to keep solutions affordable and accessible to the masses. He also briefly talks about Gene Solution’s technology, focusing on their two main pillars of reproductive health and clinical oncology, and how it varies from older tests and their strategies of expansion into various new geographical markets. Lastly, he describes the typical challenges that a company would face when they are first starting up and the importance of good teamwork.

Host: Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar Editors: Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew, John Joson Ng

• 01:30 Hoa's Background and Early Career

• 03:58 Founding of Gene Solutions

• 07:05 Gaps that Gene Solutions Aims to Solve

• 12:03 Differences Between Gene Solutions’ New Methods and Old Methods

• 20:17 Challenges Faced by Gene Solutions in Expansion to New Markets

• 26:32 Importance of Partnerships

• 37:03 Advice for Aspiring Scientists and Entrepreneurs

Dr. Ivan Horak is currently the CEO and founder of Tikva Allocell, a biotech company whose mission is to develop safe, effective, readily available and affordable “off-the-shelf” T cell therapies by leveraging excellent safety profile of proprietary technologies that enhance the T cell's performance to treat cancer.

In this episode, Ivan shares his journey from having an interest in becoming a medical oncologist. He also shares how his experience in working in some of the top oncology institutes in Central Europe to working in the United States helped shape his early career before moving into Singapore, where he worked with Tessa and finally set out to develop Tikva Allocell. Tikva Allocell is focused on creating therapy using proprietary IP protected platform to drive the next breakthrough in cancer therapy. In this episode, Ivan also shares about the groundbreaking work being done at Tikva, and also the typical challenges that a company would face when they are first starting up. He goes on to talk about making therapies affordable, how to manage scaling up and also the importance of collaboration. He also mentions the intricacies of VCs and also how they function.

Host: John Joson Ng Editors: Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew, John Joson Ng

01:37 Ivan's Background and Early Career

04:46 Founding of Tikva

11:41 Importance of Collaborations

14:26 Tikva's recent milestones

15:36 VC mindset

20:20 Advice for Aspiring Bioentrepreneurs and Final Thoughts

Dr. Joshua Wang is currently the CEO and founder of VerImmune, a biotech company focused on developing novel virus inspired particle technology platform that can be used as a delivery system to target cancers.

In this episode, Josh shares his journey from having an interest in infectious diseases to leading a biotech startup that spans across the US and Singapore. VerImmune specializes in developing Virus-Inspired Particle (VIP) technology for targeting cancers. Josh discusses his academic background, including his PhD work at Johns Hopkins, and how serendipitous events led him from vaccine research to entrepreneurship. He explains the mechanics and advantages of VerImmune's VIP technology, its application in cancer treatment, and its potential for other therapeutic areas. The episode also covers challenges in biotech entrepreneurship, the importance of manufacturing and scalability, and the strategic decisions behind relocating some operations to Singapore. Dr. Wang offers valuable advice for aspiring biotech founders, emphasizing the significance of discernment, persistence, and leveraging global opportunities.

Host: Dillon Chew
Editors: Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew, John Joson Ng

00:00 Josh's Background and Early Career

05:13 Founding his first Startup

06:27 Challenges in the Vaccine Business

07:46 VerImmune and their VIP Technology

21:24 Collaborations and Global Expansion

29:48 Advice for Aspiring Bioentrepreneurs

32:38 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Ritika Khetawat is the founder of MissionBridge, a fundraising advisory firm that empowers Singapore’s biotech and medtech ventures to secure the capital they need.

In this episode, Ritika discusses her transition from investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to supporting healthcare startups through MissionBridge. She shares her insights into the unique challenges of biotech fundraising, emphasizing the need for strategic planning, strong storytelling, and relationship-building with investors. Ritika explains MissionBridge’s mission to “democratize fundraising” by simplifying the process for founders and bridging the gap between early-stage innovation and global funding opportunities. She also highlights the importance of optionality in biotech pipelines and adapting to market dynamics during the “biotech winter.”

Host: Dillon ChewEditors: Hana Maldivita Tambrin, Aakash S/O Naresh Kumar, Dillon Chew, John Joson Ng

01:17 Introduction

09:22 Various Sources of Funding for Startups

22:19 Common Challenges and Mistakes Made During Fundraising

30:00 Selecting a Good VC Partner

36:47 Future of MissionBridge and Emerging Trends in Singapore