Duke-NUS and Johnson & Johnson Launch New Center for Flavivirus Research

Singapore, June 21, 2022 – Duke-NUS Medical School and Johnson & Johnson have jointly launched a new Satellite Center for Global Health Discovery in Singapore. The center aims to drive new solutions to mitigate the threat posed by flaviviruses, such as dengue and Zika.

This marks the first Johnson & Johnson research collaboration site in the Asia-Pacific region and is part of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre's (AMC) vision to develop a Discovery District on its campus to advance bench-to-bedside research. The collaboration merges Duke-NUS expertise in research and commercialization with Johnson & Johnson's deep industry experience to accelerate discovery research against flavivirus-related diseases.

Flaviviruses cause significant illness and death, yet no specific antiviral therapeutics are currently available. The center will strengthen Singapore's standing as a hub for discovery research, addressing the unmet medical need as these viruses infect over 400 million people annually. A warming planet poses an increasing risk of spreading these diseases to new areas.

"The establishment of the Satellite Center builds on our strong track record in flavivirus research and aims to accelerate antiviral drug discovery for the prevention and treatment of flavivirus-associated diseases," said Patrick Casey, Senior Vice-Dean for Research at Duke-NUS. "The collaboration is timely in view of the impending threat of climate change."