Nanyang Biologics (NYB), an innovative Singapore-based biotech startup, is transforming traditional drug discovery using advanced AI technology. With the pharmaceutical industry plagued by long development times, high costs, and staggering failure rates, Nanyang Biologics is addressing these challenges head-on through its pioneering AI platform, DTIGN. Their approach drastically accelerates the identification of promising therapeutic compounds, promising to bring crucial treatments to market faster and more affordably.

To delve deeper into the company’s ambitious vision and groundbreaking work, we had the pleasure of speaking with Giang Nguyen, Chief Executive Officer at Nanyang Biologics, during an insightful Zoom call.

The Journey to Success

As soon as Giang appeared on the Zoom call, his enthusiasm for AI and biotechnology was palpable. Despite the distance, we could sense the genuine excitement and passion as he described the work at Nanyang Biologics. He began by highlighting the critical challenges the startup was created to tackle.

“Drug discovery is traditionally lengthy, costly, and risky, often taking 12–15 years and costing between $161 million and $4.54 billion, with a staggering 90% failure rate in clinical trials.” Giang pointed out that these inefficiencies significantly delay life-saving treatments, especially for critical conditions such as cancer, metabolic disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases, which collectively account for 75% of global deaths.

1. What specific problem did you set out to solve when starting Nanyang Biologics?

Giang explained, “A major bottleneck is compound screening, a process that involves testing millions of chemical compounds to identify potential drug candidates. Traditional screening methods are slow, costly, and often ineffective, leading to high attrition rates in later development stages.”

This challenge was the turning point for Giang and his team, as they recognized that inefficiencies were delaying life-saving treatments. Driven to make a significant difference, Nanyang Biologics developed DTIGN, an AI-powered drug discovery platform designed to enhance hit identification and lead optimization through highly accurate drug-target interaction (DTI) prediction.

2. What is the core technology or AI model that makes your product or service stand out from competitors?

Giang described the proprietary AI platform DTIGN as the core technology that distinguishes Nanyang Biologics from competitors. Unlike traditional methods focusing mainly on binding affinity, DTIGN integrates multiple advanced AI techniques, including Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), self-attention mechanisms, and semi-supervised learning, to evaluate a broader range of biological and chemical factors.

“DTIGN considers not just molecular binding affinity but also signaling pathways, pharmacokinetics, and species-specific variations,” Giang elaborated. Furthermore, the company prioritizes natural compounds and is actively constructing one of the world’s largest tropical plant compound libraries. These naturally occurring molecules often have superior bioavailability, lower toxicity, and greater metabolic stability compared to synthetic alternatives.

“With a 27.03% higher prediction accuracy and a 64-fold increase in hit rate efficiency,” Giang proudly noted, “DTIGN reduces the discovery timeline by up to 68.2%, significantly accelerating new compound development.”

3. What was the biggest early challenge and how did you push through it?

Reflecting on the company’s early days, Giang shared candidly about their initial challenge: training an accurate AI model required extensive, high-quality data. However, data in drug-target interactions is typically fragmented, inconsistent, and dispersed across numerous scientific publications and databases.

“To tackle this, we leveraged our expertise in data processing and the latest machine learning technologies to create an AI-driven pipeline,” Giang explained. This pipeline automated the extraction and validation of millions of fragmented data points, significantly enhancing the efficiency and quality of data collection.

This breakthrough not only improved the accuracy of their AI models but also accelerated drug discovery and established a scalable foundation for continuous innovation.

The NYB Way

1. Describe your ideal company culture in three words, and give a specific example of how each is lived out daily.

Giang described it succinctly: resourceful, passionate, and curious.

“Resourcefulness is crucial, especially when your team is small,” he explained. “Everyone at Nanyang Biologics steps beyond their primary expertise, embraces multiple roles, and creatively solves problems with limited resources.”

Passion is a driving force behind execution. “A startup’s success isn’t just about great vision—it’s about people deeply engaged in solving the problems at hand. True impact comes from dedicated individuals who persistently push through challenges.”

Lastly, curiosity helps the team avoid blind spots. “By continually questioning assumptions and exploring new disciplines, we uncover greater innovation opportunities,” Giang noted.

2. Beyond profit, what impact do you want your company to have on the world or your industry?

The mission at Nanyang Biologics transcends profit: the ultimate goal is making life-saving treatments faster, more affordable, and widely accessible. By significantly shortening early-stage timelines from years to mere months, DTIGN creates opportunities for reducing overall drug development time and costs.

“By streamlining these processes, we directly address urgent medical needs, especially for complex and resistant diseases,” Giang explained passionately. “Our technology not only accelerates R&D but also lowers barriers to drug discovery and development, making effective treatments available to patients who need them most.”

The Future Vision

Pivoting to the future, Giang confidently laid out Nanyang Biologics’ forward-looking strategy. “We have big plans,” he stated, enthusiastically sharing their roadmap for continued innovation and scalability.

1. How do you ensure your AI systems remain innovative and scalable as the industry evolves?

The company ensures DTIGN remains cutting-edge through continuous advancements in AI, proprietary data expansion, and strategic partnerships:

• Cutting-edge AI and Intellectual Property Protection: DTIGN consistently surpasses industry benchmarks, as validated by IEEE. The company’s unique approach and patent protection (filed on 7 January 2025) ensure a lasting competitive edge.
• Exclusive Proprietary Data: Their rapidly expanding database of tropical plant compounds offers a distinct advantage, ensuring consistently high prediction accuracy and compound validation.
• AI and Experimental Integration: Unlike purely AI-focused companies, Nanyang Biologics combines AI predictions with real-world validation through the NYB-NTU Joint Lab, supported by a substantial $20M SGD research agreement.
• Scalable Infrastructure and Partnerships: Collaborations with leading tech giants such as HPE and NVIDIA provide the computing power needed for scalable, efficient growth while adhering to biodiversity and data privacy standards.

2. What fundamental shift in your industry are you anticipating, and how are you positioning the company to take advantage of it?

Giang anticipates a fundamental industry shift driven by AI and advanced computing. Compound discovery will no longer be exclusive to large pharmaceutical companies but will expand into nutraceuticals, wellness, and alternative therapeutics.

“To capitalize on this shift, we’re building a user-friendly, comprehensive, and cost-effective platform accessible not only to large corporations but also smaller companies and other industries,” Giang explained. “Our aim is to democratize AI-powered compound discovery, demonstrating AI’s broad potential through strategic partnerships and successful case studies.”

Final Thoughts

Before concluding our engaging Zoom session, Giang thoughtfully shared a profound reflection that struck a chord with everyone present:

“I once believed deep specialization was the key, but as I expanded beyond chemistry into computer science and AI, I saw how combining diverse fields led to breakthrough ideas. Each new domain provided fresh perspectives, allowing me to connect concepts in unexpected ways and unlock solutions that wouldn’t have been possible within a single field. The more I explored, the more I recognized the power of bridging gaps – this is where real innovation happens.”

These words eloquently capture Nanyang Biologics’ innovative spirit and underline a critical lesson for all startups—real innovation emerges not from isolation but from continuous exploration across diverse fields. Their commitment to breaking boundaries and embracing multidisciplinary collaboration places them at the forefront of biotech innovation. We remain genuinely inspired and look forward to watching their transformative vision unfold, reshaping the future of therapeutics and improving lives globally.