Biotech firm Hummingbird Bioscience to target inflammatory diseases with precision drugs

Singapore-headquartered biotech firm Hummingbird Bioscience, known for developing antibodies for cancer, is turning its sights to drugs for immunology and inflammatory diseases, such as lupus and inflammatory bowel disease.

- Lee Li Ying

It will be adapting antibody-drug conjugates which it developed for cancer treatment to target these diseases.

It is now about 12 months to 18 months away from filing regulatory approvals in Asia, Europe and the US to start clinical trials for an undisclosed number of these drugs.

These consist of antibodies that have the missile-like ability to seek out specific targets, along with a payload, which is a drug intended to treat a disease.

Hummingbird recently received an award from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), the United Nations agency dedicated to innovation and creativity.

At the 2025 Wipo Global Awards held at the organisation's headquarters in Geneva on July 11, it was among 10 small and medium-sized enterprises worldwide that were celebrated for commercialising their intellectual property (IP).

"Hummingbird Bioscience exemplifies how innovative companies can thrive with a well-crafted IP strategy. The company has built a robust IP plan with a strong patents portfolio and a successful licensing-based business model," said Mr Fu Zhikang, director of IP strategy solutions at Ipos International, a subsidiary of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.

The biotech firm is looking to expand its pipeline of products.