Duke-NUS Medical School Launches LIVE Ventures with $109M Commitment to Accelerate Healthcare Innovation
Recently, the Duke-NUS Medical School (hereinafter referred to as "Duke-NUS Medical School") announced the official launch of its "LIVE Ventures" incubator program, which brings together stakeholders from academia, industry, research, healthcare, and investment to facilitate the translation of medical innovations from the laboratory to industrialization.
The initiative will invest S$20 million (approximately RMB 109 million) in incubator development, providing entrepreneurial support for medical innovation projects through global industry resource matchmaking, capital empowerment, market validation, and green approval channels. Furthermore, an Investment Advisory Committee will be established in partnership with SingHealth, one of the world’s largest academic medical centers, 65LAB, and other collaborators across industry, academia, research, healthcare, and investment sectors. This committee will provide evaluation, guidance, and business support to assess the scientific merit and market potential of innovative projects.
LIVE Ventures plans to help bring 20 high-potential innovative projects from Duke-NUS Medical School to market over the next five years, providing up to S$660,000 (approximately RMB 3.6 million) in seed funding for each selected high-potential project.
The incubator also adopts an “entrepreneur-in-residence” model, under which selected companies will work with designated entrepreneur mentors. These mentors will rigorously oversee and manage the companies’ operations in areas such as research and development, intellectual property, and business strategy.
LIVE Ventures’ first incubated project comes from the team of Associate Professor Lena Ho at Duke-NUS Medical School. The team is conducting research to develop microproteins as therapeutic targets for chronic inflammation.
In the United States, chronic inflammatory diseases and related syndromes affect nearly 60 million people, causing annual losses of at least $90 billion. In Singapore, the prevalence of these conditions is also on the rise. He Lina’s team is expected to identify three candidate drugs within the next two years for the treatment of common conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and atopic dermatitis.
The team also secured S$2.5 million in investment, with LIVE Ventures contributing S$500,000 and 65LAB, a partner of Duke-NUS Medical School, contributing S$2 million.
Duke-NUS Medical School is a joint venture between Duke University and the National University of Singapore, dedicated to medical education and scientific research. To further enhance students’ innovative capabilities and practical skills, the Medical School has launched the “Duke-NUS Healthcare Innovation Programme (DHIP).”
DHIP primarily targets third-year medical students and students from the Faculty of Engineering and the Business School at the National University of Singapore. It encourages students to form interdisciplinary teams to jointly conduct healthcare project research under the guidance of clinicians and industry partners. To date, DHIP has yielded multiple innovative outcomes.
For instance, OasiGuard, a device designed to prevent vaginal tearing during natural childbirth by providing additional support and protection, thereby reducing the risk of complications during delivery, secured an investment of S$20,000. The rapid intelligent testing kit cPass, jointly developed by Professor Wang Linfa’s team at Duke-NUS Medical School, the Diagnostic Development Hub (DxD Hub) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore, and the international biotechnology company GenScript Biotech Corporation, is the world’s first FDA-authorized neutralizing antibody test kit for SARS-CoV-2. Anhui Hanxin Zhihu Technology, established in 2023, was co-founded by Guo Dagang, an alumnus of the University of Science and Technology of China, together with several professors from Duke-NUS Medical School, focusing on the research and development of products for early screening of high-risk chest pain and intelligent triage.
These collaborations have not only fostered technological innovation and the translation of research findings in the medical field, but also accumulated valuable experience for the successful implementation of LIVE startup projects.
Duke-NUS Medical School places great emphasis on the integration of industry, academia, and research, having established close collaborations with Duke University, the National University of Singapore, and Singapore Health Services, the largest healthcare group in Singapore.
On one hand, the clinical discipline support and clinical resources provided by Duke-NUS Medical School and SingHealth, combined with the basic research capabilities of the two universities, facilitate the identification and cultivation of original innovative projects that align with clinical needs and possess high potential for growth. On the other hand, basic research empowers clinical disciplines; when confronted with challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of clinical diseases, clinician-scientists can leverage the comprehensive university backgrounds of Duke University and the National University of Singapore to transcend traditional medical paradigms. By integrating knowledge from other disciplines, they can adopt indirect approaches to resolve complex clinical problems.
Amid the surging tide of commercializing scientific and technological achievements, an increasing number of scientists and professors are stepping out of the “ivory tower” to launch startups, whether proactively or reactively. However, scientist entrepreneurs often face a pronounced imbalance—possessing exceptional strengths in their specialized fields while lacking in other critical areas. They require incubators and angel investment firms with deep industry resources and extensive experience to help bridge these gaps in management and operations. Such support includes team building, identifying co-founders, exploring commercial applications, and handling operations and business development, thereby guiding scientist founders through the precarious early-stage period and enabling rapid growth.
Thus, leveraging their disciplinary strengths, medical resources, scientific and technological research capabilities, and industrial networks, many universities have established investment funds, accelerators, and incubators to better support scientists during the “first mile” of their entrepreneurial journeys.
It should be noted that,University innovation incubators differ from startup accelerators, with variations in target clients, service offerings, and service duration.
University incubators primarily target startups in their early stages that possess significant growth potential but have not yet established a stable business model. They emphasize comprehensive support for these enterprises, typically without fixed service terms, allowing for flexible adjustments based on the actual needs and development progress of the companies. Some university incubators even provide long-term follow-up services to help businesses achieve sustainable growth.
Startup accelerators focus on companies that have a certain foundation, are market-validated, and possess high-growth potential. They provide early-stage investment, mentoring, and training programs within a fixed timeframe. In addition to financial support, they help companies secure more investment opportunities and partnerships through mentor teams, industry expert resources, pitch events, and networking activities.
The most obvious difference is that university incubators typically do not have a fixed service period, whereas startup accelerators generally have a defined term, ranging from several months to one year. Overall, university incubators place greater emphasis on long-term and stable resource investment, helping enterprises gradually establish robust operational systems by providing basic services such as workspace, facilities, and training. In contrast, startup accelerators focus on intensive short-term resource allocation, facilitating rapid breakthroughs and growth by offering key resources such as funding, mentorship, and market access.
Globally, numerous universities have established medical incubators to promote technological innovation and the translation of scientific research outcomes, such as Harvard Medical School’s Innovation Lab (iLab), Stanford University School of Medicine’s BioDesign Center for Innovation, MIT’s Healthcare Innovation Center, MIT’s M2D2 Incubator, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Innovation Hub, and the University of Cambridge’s Health and Medical Incubator.
Certainly, domestic universities are also accelerating innovation and translation in the medical field, such as the Global Health Industry Innovation Center (GHIC) and the Peking University Medical Science Innovation Center. In 2024, a number of university-affiliated medical incubators emerged in China.
In May, the ECNU Incubator of Grand Neo Bay, jointly established by the Smart Medical Park and East China Normal University (ECNU), was officially unveiled. Leveraging ECNU’s academic resources and the industrial strengths of Minhang District in Shanghai, the incubator aims to build an innovation and entrepreneurship support system integrating “co-working spaces, incubators, accelerators, and connectors.” Currently, nearly 20 ECNU-affiliated sci-tech innovation projects have expressed interest in settling in the incubator, including several with overseas backgrounds.
On July 8, the Fudan Shanghai Medical College Molecular Biology Innovation Incubation Center and the Shanghai International Medical Science and Innovation Center Incubator, jointly established by the Xuhui District People’s Government of Shanghai and Fudan University, were officially unveiled.
The Fudan Shanghai Medical College Molecular Biology Innovation Incubation Center is supported by the Xuhui District Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Xuhui District People’s Government, and is jointly managed and operated by Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, 6789 Technology Group, and Fenglin Group. In collaboration with the Public Technical Service Platform of Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, and the Laboratory Animal Center of Fudan University, the center will open and share multiple public service platforms with incubated enterprises to accelerate the translation and commercialization of scientific research achievements. Several companies, including Shanghai Yuming Pharmaceutical, Shanghai XinXinLian Technology, and Shanghai Mingshi Medical Devices, have already settled in the center.
The Shanghai International Medical Science and Innovation Incubator, unveiled on the same day, is being developed with specific medical scenarios as its central theme. Within each scenario, a model led by leading tech giants, supplemented by established enterprises, and participated in by innovative startups is adopted to construct a relatively complete, all-element validation space encompassing equipment, consumables, and personnel, dedicated to the discussion and validation of innovative products. Each scenario will also feature an Excellence Innovation Center. The initially constructed concept validation scenarios include the Future Operating Room, Digital-Intelligent Surgery, Intensive Care, and Pan-Vascular Interventional Therapy.
Of course, China is home to numerous university-affiliated medical incubators that, leveraging their distinct academic backgrounds and resources, pursue diverse incubation focuses. With the rapid development of the healthcare industry, medical incubators in China are also advancing and growing at a fast pace. However, as they progress further, the challenges they encounter tend to become more numerous and intractable. Nevertheless, no matter how long the road ahead may be, persistence will ultimately lead to success.