Daily Briefing: $750,000 grant launched for early-stage drug projects; Temasek joins US digital manufacturing firm's $352.2m funding

And the government has set up a Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) office.

From Channel NewsAsia:

The Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDCC) was opened in Biopolis at one-north that aims to be a national platform bridging basic science research and pharmaceutical enterprise as Singapore enhances drug development efforts.

Two Memoranda of Agreement (MOU) were signed, with the first deal marking the formation of the Target Translation Consortium (TTC), a collaboration between government agencies and academic and healthcare institutions to conduct early-stage drug discovery efforts.

The second was to form the Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR) grant scheme.

A*STAR, the National Health Innovation Centre and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) also inked an MOU to fund early-stage projects up to $750,000.

Read more here.

From DealStreetAsia:

Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings has backed a $352.2m (US$260m) growth funding round for Carbon, a US-based digital manufacturing platform, according to an announcement.

The fundraising round, led by Madrone Capital Partners and Baillie Gifford, was joined by Arkema and existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Adidas Ventures, and JSR Corporation.

This brings Carbon’s total fundraising to more than $680 million. The fund raised will be used to expand the company’s R&D efforts, establishing its first advanced development facility, and to fuel international growth and expansion in Europe and Asia.

Additionally, Carbon will use the funds to invest in its ongoing development of recyclable and biocompatible materials and to accelerate the expansion of its software capabilities, including Carbon’s Digital Manufacturing Cloud.

Read more here.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

A new digital-focused office was launched by the Singapore Government on Wednesday (June 26), as it looks to work better with the private sector to unlock the opportunities in a “digital-as-usual age,” including the creation of an estimated 10,000 new jobs within the tech sector.

The Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) office brings together 45 existing officers from the Economic Development Board, Enterprise Singapore and the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), according to a separate press release from DISG on Wednesday.

The new office is positioned as the first stop for digital industry-related matters, and will work with companies across the spectrum of enterprise needs like securing talent and market access, building capabilities and going international, Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said.

Read more here.