Bayer and NHCS to set up Centre of Excellence for Explorative Cardiovascular Studies

Bayer and NHCS will collaborate on forming a better understanding of cardiovascular diseases in Asian patients. Photo: Freepik

Bayer and National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) will establish 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 centre will generate and integrate high-quality patient data into early clinical research which will allow the 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 ($4.1) towards the set up of the centre.

The Asia-Pacific accounts for more than half of the world's CVD burden, which is projected to rise with the region’s ageing trends. In Singapore alone, 17 people die from CVDs every day, with about one out of three deaths due to heart diseases or stroke. Despite this high unmet need, there is a lack of understanding of the causes and consequences of co-morbidities, disease onset/progression, and treatment outcomes in Asian CVD patients. Current R&D into CVD does not take into account the diverse characteristics of Asian CVD patients. Reliable data and standardised approaches in understanding disease patterns including risk profiles among such patients are critical to developing more effective CVD therapies.

Prof. Carolyn Lam, senior consultant at the Department of Cardiology, NHCS who is also the principal investigator of the centre, said: “Our collaboration in this initiative will open up possibilities for other Asian centres 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”. “The setting up of the centre marks a significant milestone in encouraging a more sustainable output of patient-centric cardiovascular research into Asian patient populations, which will in turn impact clinical practice and healthcare priorities in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region, ” said Prof. Terrance Chua, medical director and senior consultant at the Department of Cardiology, NHCS

The collaboration will see researchers from NHCS and Bayer working together over the next five years. The centre 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.

“Singapore’s high-quality research infrastructure, world-class healthcare system, and its diverse population make it an ideal Asian research hub and digital testbed for experimental clinical pharmacology and early cardiovascular studies,” said Philip Larsen, head of Pre-Clinical Research, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Division. “Bayer’s collaboration with NHCS demonstrates our continued commitment to growing our cardiovascular research in Singapore and in Asia to improve our current understanding of cardiovascular diseases and deliver better treatments to patients.”

To date, Bayer has invested more than S$27 million ($20.33 million) into research projects on Asian prevalent diseases (oncology and CVD) in Singapore. In particular, over the past four years, Bayer has invested approximately S$6.1 million ($4.6 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, 22 of which are conducted in Singapore.