Our Research Journey
From garden herbs to breakthrough discoveries
Where Compassion Met Curiosity,
and Science Took Root
Nanyang Biologics began not in a lab but in a garden, where nature’s remedies quietly changed lives. In the NTU Community Herb Garden, Dr. Roland Ong witnessed the healing power of medicinal plants when herbs helped a close family member battling cancer. Moved by this experience, he saw in those leaves and roots a profound therapeutic potential.
What began as personal support for the garden soon grew into a larger vision to bring traditional herbal wisdom to more people through science. That vision became Nanyang Biologics (NYB). Since 2018, NYB has been transforming nature’s potential into powerful therapies. By combining traditional knowledge, scientific research, and cutting-edge AI, the company develops evidence-based nutraceuticals and drug candidates derived from medicinal herbs. Over the years, the team’s work has focused on addressing chronic diseases such as cancer, fatty liver, cardiovascular conditions, and obesity, uniting nature and science to advance human health.
2018: A Seed is Planted
Our journey began at the NTU Community Herb Garden, established in 2009 by a group of dedicated volunteers to support those in need—offering natural remedies for conditions ranging from high blood pressure to cancer. Inspired by the healing benefits experienced by a close family member, our founder, Dr. Roland Ong, became a passionate supporter, contributing both donations and his time. His personal connection to the garden’s mission ignited a lasting dedication to medicinal plant research. Today, the garden thrives with over 300 species of medicinal herbs, continuing to offer free plants to the public and serving as a vital research hub for NTU’s School of Biological Sciences.
2019: Advancing Drug Discovery from Tropical Medicinal Plants
In partnership with Associate Professor Li Hoi Yeung, Dr. Roland Ong co-founded the Nanyang Biologics–NTU Joint Laboratory to accelerate drug discovery from tropical medicinal plants. Many of these plants are sourced directly from the NTU Community Herb Garden. The lab funds and conducts cutting-edge research at NTU, bridging traditional herbal wisdom with modern scientific inquiry to uncover novel therapeutic compounds.
2020: A Transformative Year of Discovery,
Development & Community Impact
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we opened a second herb garden in Pasir Panjang to ensure public access to medicinal plants. That same year, we deepened our partnership with NTU through a landmark $2 million Research Collaboration Agreement, focusing on herbal-based cancer therapeutics — particularly colon cancer.
Our research teams identified a blend of five herbs with potent anti-cancer properties and successfully isolated a lead compound effective across multiple cancer cell lines. Preclinical studies confirmed its ability to shrink tumours and improve gut health by rebalancing the microbiome. These breakthroughs led to the development of five novel drug candidates, marking our transition from discovery to therapeutic development.
2020 laid the foundation for future innovation, where traditional herbal knowledge meets cutting-edge science.
2021: Advancing Drug Discovery with NTU Master Research Collaboration Agreement (MRCA)
On 1 June 2021, a Master Research Collaboration Agreement was signed with Nanyang Technological University(NTU) to expand our drug discovery efforts. This milestone partnership scales up research activities and introduces new projects focused on a broader range of medicinal herbs, with potential applications in treating cancer and metabolic diseases.
The MRCA represents our shared commitment to harnessing the therapeutic power of nature through rigorous, large-scale scientific research — and strengthens our goal of delivering next-generation plant-based medicines to the world.
2022: Patent Filing for Drug Candidates
We successfully developed and patented the processes of lead compound purification and modification, resulting in the creation of five novel compounds as drug candidates. These patents mark a significant milestone in our journey from plant to pharmaceutical.
2023: Patent Filing for Herbal Formulation
After extensive testing and refinement, we identified and patented the optimal herbal formulation that effectively inhibits tumour growth in mice. This validated the synergistic power of our plant-based approach and brought us one step closer to clinical application.
2024: Harnessing AI and Expanding Horizons
In 2024, NYB took a major leap forward by integrating artificial intelligence into its research. Working with Prof. Adams Kong from NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science, the team developed DTIGN, an AI model that accurately predicts drug–target interactions and accelerates early-stage drug discovery. To advance this innovation, NYB established NYB.AI, a subsidiary dedicated to AI-driven drug development, which was selected for the Ignition AI Accelerator program by NVIDIA, Tribe, and Digital Industry Singapore. Alongside these advancements, NYB expanded into nutraceutical production, gaining NPRA approval in Malaysia and implementing strict quality controls from soil to shelf — ensuring every product remains true to its roots, grounded in nature and guided by science.
2025: Bringing the Science Full Circle
In 2025, NYB reached a defining milestone by uncovering the mechanism of action of its lead drug candidate, confirming its therapeutic pathway and paving the way for clinical validation. The year also marked growing recognition on the global stage. At GITEX ASIA 2025 in Singapore, NYB showcased its AI-driven breakthroughs in drug discovery and bio-manufacturing, and in July, NYB.AI won 1st Prize at the SuperAI Genesis Startup Competition, emerging as a leader among 700 startups from over 100 countries. The award celebrated NYB.AI’s innovative DTIGN platform, which blends graph neural networks with molecular docking to reveal new drug possibilities from Southeast Asia’s rich biodiversity, demonstrating how the future of medicine lies where nature’s wisdom meets the precision of AI.
