Hummingbird Bioscience Pte Ltd.

SAN FRANCISCO and SINGAPORE, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hummingbird Bioscience, a precision biotherapeutics company discovering and developing transformative biologics for hard-to-treat diseases, today announced a poster presentation on HMBD-802, a novel first-in-class dual-payload anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugate, at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium (23-25 October 2024). “We are excited to present at EORTC-NCI-AACR with data demonstrating how HMBD-802 can potently treat tumors in T-DXd-insensitive settings whilst maintaining an optimal safety profile. I look forward to sharing more about its potential as a therapeutic option post and beyond T-DXd for HER2-positive cancers,” said Jerome Boyd-Kirkup, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Hummingbird Bioscience. Poster detailsTitle: A novel HER2 targeted dual-payload ADC, HMBD-802, overcomes resistance to topoisomerase 1 inhibitor ADCsDate: 24 October 2024 Location: Exhibition Hall Session: Antibody-drug conjugates Poster number: PB154 Abstract number: 166 About HMBD-802HMBD-802 is a novel, first-in-class anti-HER2 dual-payload antibody-drug conjugate developed with Hummingbird Bioscience’s proprietary antibody and dual-payload ADC platform technologies. HMBD-802 allows targeted delivery of payloads to HER2-expressing tumors to maximize anti-tumor efficacy, overcome topoisomerase 1 inhibitor resistance, and reduce systemic toxicity. About Hummingbird Bioscience Hummingbird Bioscience is a precision biotherapeutics company discovering and developing transformative biologics for hard-to-treat diseases. To address key challenges with current antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies, Hummingbird Bioscience is building a pipeline of next-generation ADCs using its proprietary antibody discovery and linker/payload platforms. The company has a pipeline of ADCs in preclinical development and other novel biologics including monoclonal antibodies, HMBD-001 (anti-HER3 mAb) and HMBD-002 (anti-VISTA mAb) in Phase I and an out-licensed ADC (HMBD-501) that is slated for the clinic. The Hummingbird Bioscience approach combines computational and systems biology with wet lab drug discovery in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative environment spanning initial discovery through clinical development. The company harnesses this integrated approach across target identification and patient selection, enabling the team to increase the efficiency of translating novel scientific insights while reducing the inherent risk in drug discovery and development. At Hummingbird Bioscience, the commitment to rigorous science, teamwork, and intellectual integrity underpins our passion to accelerate the journey of new drugs from concept to clinic. For more information, please visit www.hummingbirdbioscience.com, and follow Hummingbird Bioscience on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

Flagship Pioneering’s roots in Singapore are growing less than a year after the biotech incubator first unveiled its ambitions in the Asia-Pacific. The Cambridge, MA-based investor said Wednesday evening it will jointly commit up to 100 million Singapore dollars, or about $77 million, over the next five years with Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Also known as A*STAR, the agency is one of the city-state’s main public sector R&D outfits, Flagship said. Research institutes affiliated with A*STAR will collaborate with Flagship portfolio companies to co-develop “technologies in strategically important areas,” the groups said. Singapore’s agency will also provide access to its scientists and facilities. Flagship Asia-Pacific chair André Andonian told Endpoints News that the partners will focus on “scientific exchange,” talent development and venture creation. They are interested in cell and gene therapies, nucleic acid therapeutics, precision medicine and using artificial intelligence for drug discovery, according to Andonian, who has led Flagship’s outpost in Singapore since last year after a 34-year career at McKinsey. The Singapore unit has four Flagship employees so far, Andonian said. In the Asia-Pacific, Flagship also has a partnership with Samsung. Flagship will likely unveil another partnership in the Asia-Pacific by the end of the year, Andonian said, and within two years, Flagship aims to have at least six partnerships in the region. Singapore, Korea and Japan are the main regions of focus, but Flagship is doing an “opportunistic assessment of other markets” like China and Australia, Andonian said in an interview last year. Singapore’s biotech scene took a big hit in 2023 when A*STAR-partnered cell therapy maker Tessa Therapeutics suddenly shuttered with little explanation. Some biotechs in the area have inked global deals in the past year, including Hummingbird Bioscience and KBP Biosciences. Endeavor BioMedicines last October licensed an antibody-drug conjugate from Hummingbird for up to $430 million. That same month, Novo Nordisk bought a kidney disease drug from KBP for up to $1.3 billion, though it wound up taking an $816 million writedown after the experimental medicine failed a late-stage test. Flagship has not yet formed a portfolio company in Singapore, a spokesperson told Endpoints via email. The firm’s most famous offshoot, Moderna, announced it would create a subsidiary in Singapore in 2022. “We want to learn from this foray. Most people looking at what other such expansions look like expect that we’re there to find new companies or new investments, and that’s not what we’re there to do,” Flagship chair Noubar Afeyan told Endpoints in July. “We’re there to connect our ecosystem of some 48 companies in Cambridge, Boston, to vibrant, growing ecosystems in the UK and in APAC.” The firm also set up operations in the UK last year and disclosed its first UK-based startup in November. “The connectivity of our ecosystem there, whether it’s based on science, intellectual property that we may be able to add to what we’re doing, clinical trials, manufacturing partnerships, financial partnerships — those are all things that can add, we think, value to each and every one of our companies,” Afeyan said in July.

Kon Yew Kwek, BM BCh, DPhil, appointed Chief Medical Officer Lisa Ooi, PhD, appointed Chief Operating Officer SAN FRANCISCO and SINGAPORE, July 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hummingbird Bioscience, a precision biotherapeutics company discovering and developing transformative biologics for hard-to-treat diseases, today announced the internal appointments of Kon Yew Kwek, BM BCh, DPhil, and Lisa Ooi, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively. Dr. Kwek is promoted to Chief Medical Officer, from Senior Vice President of Clinical Development. Dr. Kwek joined the company in 2022 and brings two decades of experience from Akeso Biopharma, Eli Lilly and IQVIA and clinical practice. Dr. Kwek will lead the company’s clinical development from Singapore. “Our clinical-stage assets, HMBD-001 and HMBD-002, are in clinical trials in the U.S., Australia, and Singapore. And now, we are accelerating the development of these therapies by expanding our trial sites to more countries and focusing on selected tumor types, which we believe may benefit from these therapies. I look forward to the next milestones in our clinical programs and progressing more of our pre-clinical pipeline to the clinic,” said Dr. Kwek. Dr. Ooi is promoted to Chief Operating Officer, from Senior Vice President of Strategy. Dr. Ooi joined the company in 2022 and brings two decades of experience from Singapore’s government agencies and biopharma industry, including: Economic Development Board, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), ASLAN Pharmaceuticals and Bayer. “I am delighted to lead the team’s strategy towards its next phase of growth, building upon our strong scientific capabilities and commitment to deeply understanding tumor biology. With our proprietary antibody and dual-payload ADC platform technologies, I look forward to what we will achieve in the coming year,” said Dr. Ooi. About Hummingbird Bioscience Hummingbird Bioscience is a precision biotherapeutics company discovering and developing transformative biologics for hard-to-treat diseases. To address key challenges with current antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapies, Hummingbird Bioscience is building a pipeline of next-generation ADCs using its proprietary antibody discovery and linker/payload platforms. The company has a pipeline of ADCs in preclinical development and other novel biologics including monoclonal antibodies, HMBD-001 (anti-HER3 mAb) and HMBD-002 (anti-VISTA mAb) in Phase I and a recently out-licensed ADC (HMBD-501) that will enter the clinic this year. The Hummingbird Bioscience approach combines computational and systems biology with wet lab drug discovery in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative environment spanning initial discovery through clinical development. The company harnesses this integrated approach across target identification and patient selection, enabling the team to increase the efficiency of translating novel scientific insights while reducing the inherent risk in drug discovery and development. At Hummingbird Bioscience, the commitment to rigorous science, teamwork, and intellectual integrity underpins our passion to accelerate the journey of new drugs from concept to clinic. For more information, please visit www.hummingbirdbioscience.com, and follow Hummingbird Bioscience on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.