About this episode

Dr. Katherine Wang discusses the challenges and strategies for translating scientific discoveries into viable biotech products in Singapore.

Dr. Katherine Wang, Deputy Director of the Biomedical Research Council and lead of the Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR), joins the show to unpack what it really takes to move a scientific discovery from the lab bench to a viable biotech company. Drawing on a career that spans a PhD at NYU, tech transfer, program building at Duke-NUS, and now national drug-discovery strategy at A*STAR, Katherine explains why Singapore's researchers excel at science but stumble at commercialization. She also delves into what STDR is doing about it through mentorship, bootcamps, and new schemes that pair scientists with serial entrepreneurs. Along the way she compares the US, China, and Singapore ecosystems, shares what she looks for when funding early-stage projects, and offers candid advice for any scientist curious about a career beyond the PI track. It's a practical, clear-eyed conversation about turning good science into products that reach patients. In this episode, Katherine discusses how researchers can translate scientific discoveries into commercially viable therapeutics and why strong science alone is not enough to build a successful biotech company. She explains the…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Katherine Wang

Topics covered

• biotech commercialization
• scientific discovery
• drug development
• mentorship in science
• biomedical research
• entrepreneurship in biotech

Keywords

• biotech
• commercialization
• scientific research
• drug discovery
• mentorship
• entrepreneurship
• Singapore
• A*STAR
• STDR

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: A*STAR, Biomedical Research Council, Singapore Therapeutics Development Review, Duke-NUS

Books & works: PhD

Places: Singapore, US, China

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