Now in its fourth year, the programme continues to empower biotech startups through ecosystem support and collaboration to advance science that serves patients.
SINGAPORE, Aug. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Singzyme, a Singapore-based biotech startup pioneering next-generation bioconjugation solutions, has been named the winner of the 2025 Golden Ticket Programme in Singapore. The award is part of a joint programme by Amgen, a U.S.-based leader in biologic medicines and NSG BioLabs, Singapore's leading provider of biotechnology co-working laboratories and offices.
Now in its fourth year, the Golden Ticket Programme supports promising biotech startups by providing infrastructure, mentorship, and resources to advance scientific progress and talent development in accelerating the development of new therapies. As this year's awardee, Singzyme will receive a one-year residency at NSG BioLabs, along with access to certified BSL-2 lab facilities and networking opportunities through Amgen's community of scientific and business leaders.
Singzyme was selected from a competitive pool of six finalists following an interactive pitch session reviewed by Amgen's internal scientific committee. The startup stood out for its proprietary Peptide Asparaginyl Ligase (PAL) platform, a novel site-specific conjugation technology that addresses key challenges in the manufacturing of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other complex biologics. The platform holds strong potential for enabling safer, more precise, and efficient production of next-generation targeted therapies.
"Singzyme's novel platform reflects the strong scientific thinking and innovation emerging from Singapore's biotech sector," said Dr Alan Russell, Vice President for Research Biologics at Amgen. "It's encouraging to see creative approaches to longstanding challenges in bioconjugation, and we're pleased to be part of an initiative that helps spotlight and connect promising science with broader networks in the industry that aligns with Amgen's mission to deliver impactful therapies to serve patients."
Ms Daphne Teo, CEO and Founder of NSG BioLabs, added, "The Golden Ticket Programme provides a valuable stepping stone for biotech startups at critical stages of their journey. As Singapore's life sciences community continues to expand, it's exciting to support companies like Singzyme as they bring their ideas to life and move closer to the clinic in Singapore's growing vibrant biotech industry."
Mr Abbas Sahili, Chief Technology Officer, inventor and founding team member of Singzyme, said, "This award validates the transformative potential of Singzyme's peptide ligation technology to enable the next generation of precision medicines. The Golden Ticket is a significant recognition of our PAL platform's ability to address critical unmet needs in biologics development - not only in oncology, but across diverse modalities and disease areas."
Mr Wee Kiat Tan, CEO of Singzyme, said, "With this support, we are committed to advancing our platform toward clinical applications in oncology and beyond. Through this collaboration, we will continue to strengthen our capabilities and accelerate the delivery of impactful therapies to patients worldwide."
Singzyme joins a growing list of previous Golden Ticket recipients in Singapore, including Albatroz Therapeutics, VerImmune, and PairX Bio. These companies have leveraged the programme's access and visibility to further their research, raise funding, and expand partnerships. Albatroz secured US$3 million in seed funding to advance its drug development programmes, while VerImmune's recent closure of the first half of its Pre-Series A round reflects strong confidence in its platform and trajectory.
Unlocking Biotech Growth Through Cross-Sector Collaboration
Accelerating biotech startups takes more than breakthrough science, it requires the right mix of mentorship, infrastructure, and collaboration. This was the key message shared at a panel discussion held at the award ceremony, titled "Powering Biotech Breakthroughs: Scaling Science Through Cross-Sector Collaboration." Speakers from Amgen, ClavystBio, and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) discussed how cross-sector collaboration is helping startups progress from scientific concepts to real-world applications. The discussion emphasized the importance of a dynamic ecosystem – one that offers shared infrastructure, strong talent pipelines, and access to mentorship – to support biotech ventures and enable researchers and entrepreneurs to grow and scale globally.
"We are growing Singapore's biotech leadership via three key drivers – access to capital, a strong talent pool, and strategic partnerships," said Mr Chen Pengfei, Vice President for Healthcare of EDB. "Beyond a strong scientific community, a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem is critical to bringing innovations to market. We hope to forge more collaborations with key stakeholders including academic and biotech companies, to unlock greater growth opportunities from Singapore."
For more information on Golden Ticket Programme, visit https://nsgbio.com/nsg-bio-tomorrow/
About Amgen
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative medicines to help millions of patients in their fight against some of the world's toughest diseases. More than 40 years ago, Amgen helped to establish the biotechnology industry and remains on the cutting-edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what's known today. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline that builds on its existing portfolio of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases and rare diseases.
In 2024, Amgen was named one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" by Fast Company and one of "America's Best Large Employers" by Forbes, among other external recognitions. Amgen is one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average®, and it is also part of the Nasdaq-100 Index®, which includes the largest and most innovative non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization.
For more information, visit Amgen.com and follow Amgen on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Threads.
About NSG BioLabs
Founded with a focus on supporting biotech innovation, NSG BioLabs offers state-of-the-art equipment, efficient operations, capital efficiency, the expertise of world-class teams and global networks to assist life sciences companies. The conducive R&D environment contains fully-equipped, certified BSL-2 laboratory and office infrastructure across 70,000 sq ft within Singapore's biomedical science clusters, Biopolis and Singapore Science Park.
By providing access to high-quality infrastructure, its extensive partner network, community, and value-add benefits, NSG BioLabs ensures that companies, ranging from emerging biotech startups to multinational companies, can rapidly and efficiently execute on their cutting-edge research and development ecosystem in Singapore, leading to the innovation of revolutionary technologies and products that translate into breakthrough biotech ventures and impact for patients. For more information, visit www.nsgbio.com
About Singzyme
Singzyme is a Singapore-based biotechnology company pioneering next-generation bioconjugation solutions for the manufacturing of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other complex biologics. Its proprietary Peptide Asparaginyl Ligase (PAL) based conjugation platform enables highly precise, efficient, and scalable site-specific conjugation of payloads to antibodies and other proteins. By combining breakthrough enzymatic technology with deep expertise in protein engineering, Singzyme empowers partners to accelerate the development of safer, more effective targeted therapies. For more information visit www.singzyme.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
SINGZYME WINS 2025 AMGEN X NSG GOLDEN TICKET FOR BREAKTHROUGH BIOCONJUGATION PLATFORM
