NSG BioLabs raises US$14.5mil from Celadon Partners and Temasek's ClavystBio

• Committed to support innovators, contribute to S’pore’s biotech ecosystem
• Announced a US$14.5 mil investment from Celadon Partners and ClavystBio​

NSG BioLabs, Singapore's provider of biotech co-working laboratory and office space has announced partnerships with Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore government agency championing enterprise development, and Merck, a leading science and technology company, to bolster the biotech landscape by providing needed resources such as funding, expertise and networks to advance startup research and development. 

In a statement, the company said it has also concluded a US$14.5 million (RM68.7 million) financing round led by Celadon Partners, an Asian private equity firm, and ClavystBio, a life science investor and venture builder set up by Temasek to accelerate the commercialisation of breakthrough ideas to health impact. 

It added that these achievements reaffirm the company’s strength and expertise in providing high-quality, well-managed, and turnkey Biosafety Level 2 certified laboratory and office spaces. Moreover, these milestones underscore NSG BioLabs as an ecosystem catalyst, providing value-add services and networks, which are important in driving scientific innovation and business growth.

Since 2019, NSG BioLabs has been assisting innovators in creating impactful solutions in the health, biomedical, agrifood, and industrial biotechnology sectors, working in areas such as precision medicine, nucleic acids, AI-enabled drug discovery, and synthetic biology. With what it claims to be the largest co-working biotech laboratory and office footprint in Singapore, coupled with extensive networks with partners, suppliers and industry experts, the company has helped over 40 companies as residents. 

To date, the firm’s residents include several multi-billion-dollar multinationals as well as many promising startups that have achieved key milestones. The startup residents alone have successfully raised nearly US$400 million (RM1.9 billion) in funding and supported hundreds of jobs. 

Daphne Teo (pic), CEO and founder of NSG BioLabs stated that the company is committed to supporting innovators and proud to have helped in Singapore's growing biotech ecosystem. “Our partnerships with EnterpriseSG and Merck signify the importance of a collaborative spirit, and we hope to spur greater collaboration among other stakeholders to benefit the biotech industry in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region,” she added.

“We are thankful for the recognition from our investors, Celadon Partners and ClavystBio, and look forward to further empowering our residents in their innovation efforts through expanded facilities, enhanced value-add offerings, and greater exposure to valuable industry networking and mentorship experiences,” Teo said.

NSG BioLabs has been part of EnterpriseSG’s Startup SG Accelerator programme since 2019. The firm announced its renewed partnership with EnterpriseSG to invest in and nurture more high-potential biotech startups, in particular, expanding support for those with promising innovations in fields such as precision medicine, with the aim of fast-tracking the development and commercialisation of such deep tech solutions.

Dr Clarice Chen, director of Healthcare and Biomedical, EnterpriseSG stated that Singapore's biotech landscape has evolved significantly, with a burgeoning community of global startups and doubled healthtech deals in 2023. “EnterpriseSG will continue to work with industry partners like NSG BioLabs to drive the development of new deep tech innovations such as AI-enabled platforms and targeted therapies by providing patient capital, infrastructure and expertise. This will strengthen Singapore’s edge in precision medicine and revolutionise healthcare delivery,” she added.

To further its mission of supporting biotech innovators, NSG BioLabs stated, the fresh funds from Celadon Partners and ClavystBio, will be utilized to enhance its product and services and to introduce additional facilities to meet the growing demands of biotech startups and multinational companies in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

“As the Southeast Asia biotech sector experiences tremendous growth driven by healthcare needs, we are confident that NSG BioLabs' innovative co-working model can offer compelling solutions for biotech startups and companies across the region. NSG BioLabs' dedication to empowering companies to fast-track their research and development efforts is commendable,” said Donald Tang, managing partner at Celadon Partners.

Meanwhile, Khoo Shih CEO ClavystBio said, the company is excited to foster the growth of Singapore’s life science ecosystem through its support of NSG BioLabs, and its resident startups. “This investment reinforces ClavystBio's mission to accelerate breakthrough science into health impact through venture building, and strategic partnerships,” he said. 

As a key platform in the region with an established and growing scale, NSG BioLabs fosters mutually beneficial connections between its residents and other key parties. To further enable its residents to develop, grow and scale-up, the company has secured a partnership with Merck to provide its residents special terms for Merck’s reagents, and equipment in life sciences. The partnership also includes preferential access to biopharma processing expertise and consultation for scaling-up production.