Month: March 2025

On 12 March 2025, we delivered a guest lecture at the Department of Pharmacology at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine as part of the postgraduate module Current Practices in Biotechnology.

The module is designed to bring real-world industry insight into the academic environment for full-time Master’s and PhD students.

It provides the postgraduate students with the oportunity to learn directly from biotech professionals, exploring the journey of turning lab research into market innovations and the pathways from academia to industry.

Our speaker, Adrian Wee, Director and Research Manager at the Translational Pharmacology unit, delivered a 2-hour presentation titled ‘Harnessing Antibodies for Therapeutics’ with up to 50 postgraduate students in attendance.

He provided a detailed explanation on our company’s core work – particularly in the area of antibody technology and the role it plays in drug development. He also provided an insight into current industry practices and the day-to-day realities of working in applied research.

We view opportunities like this as a way to actively contribute to Singapore’s science ecosystem – sharing our passions, insights, and experience with the next generation of researchers.

It’s also a valuable touchpoint for us to engage directly with young scientists. By understanding their goals, we can also adapt our hiring approach to better align with their interests and career trajectories. We hope this opens doors to future collaborations and potential hires.

On 10 March 2025, we hosted a visit from Waseda Shibuya Senior High School, a Singapore-based Japanese school affiliated with Waseda University in Japan. The group comprised 34 students and 3 accompanying teachers.

The visit was part of the school’s initiative to give students a deeper understanding of career opportunities with Japanese companies that have a global presence, particularly in manufacturing or research. It was open to students from both the sciences and humanities.

After a warm welcome, we kickstarted the visit with a career talk by Dr Zulkarnain Harfuddin, Head, Partnering and Business Development, who spearheads open innovation initiatives to drive drug discovery. He provided an overview of our company’s work, diving into the research process and shedding light on the essential qualities that make a successful science researcher.

Following this, our CEO Dr Hideaki Shimada delivered an engaging presentation, sharing his personal career journey from his academic beginnings to his current leadership role. He spoke openly about maintaining a sense of purpose in one’s work, drawing from his own experiences at the helm of CPR.

The students were then taken on a guided tour of our lab, where they got a close-up look at the advanced equipment used in our R&D work. It was an eye-opening tour for them as they could see how science comes to life at our facility.

The visit concluded with a Q&A session. Students posed a range of questions, which were answered by our research team. 

We’re always glad to play a role in supporting the local science ecosystem. Hosting the students and staff of Waseda Shibuya Senior high School was a great opportunity to share what we do!

Held from 3 – 5 March 2025 at the ParkRoyal Collection, Marina Bay, the 4^th BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Biopharma Summit: Singapore was a must-attend forum for C-suite leaders, investors and policymakers shaping the next era of biopharma innovation.

We were honored to participate in this prestigious forum, with our CEO Dr Hideaki Shimada delivering a keynote presentation on 5 March 2025 for the session ‘Role Models in the Arc of Innovation’, moderated by Simone Fishburn, BioCentury Inc’s VP & Editor.

During his address, Dr Shimada shared how CPR’s commitment to innovation has driven breakthrough advances in drug development with a global impact.

He described how CPR has harnessed antibody engineering and cyclic peptide platforms to drive innovative research into treatments for a wide range of diseases. These efforts have led to the development of novel therapeutics that address some of the most urgent medical needs.

In his keynote, Dr Shimada reflected on CPR as a role model in Asia’s ‘Arc of Innovation’, noting that our unwavering focus on invention has enabled us to play a role in shaping the development of medical solutions.

Dr Shimada also highlighted that Singapore’s strong R&D ecosystem has been key to our success, offering talent, infrastructure and support to drive collaboration and innovation.

Overall, the East-West Biopharma Summit was a valuable opportunity for leaders from the biopharma industry to network, debate strategies to develop the industry, and to address pressing global healthcare challenges.