Duke-NUS turns research into reality by commercialising one of their discoveries for use in diagnostic tests and supplements for babies' and children's brain development.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an essential fatty acid that has many critical roles in the body, especially in the brain and eyes where it maintains structure and function.   It is found in dietary sources and often in supplements for expecting mothers and infant formulas.  

In unborn babies and infants, a sufficient supply of DHA is well established to be critical for optimal mental and visual development.   However, the exact mechanism was not clearly understood.

It was only in 2014 that Professor David Silver from Duke-NUS Medical School published a groundbreaking research that for the first time, established the DHA pathway and transport system in the brain.

To cross the blood-brain-barrier, the brain's "security portal", DHA must first take the form of LPC-DHA. It is then transported by a protein named Mfsd2a.

Prof Silver and his team found that to cross the blood-brain-barrier, the brain's "security portal", DHA must first be in specific chemical form called LPC-DHA.   It is then transported by a protein named Mfsd2a.   Unless this happens, most forms of DHA will not be effectively delivered to the brain.

This means that to improve supply of DHA to the brain, LPC is key.

"The pathway we found can be exploited to deliver the DHA necessary for normal brain growth and function, which we thought could be especially important for pre-term babies," explained Prof Silver, who is Deputy Director of the Duke-NUS Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Programme.

The discovery has now been licensed to a newly-launched Singapore-based company, Babynostics Pte Ltd. Based on this understanding of DHA delivery process, Babynostics will develop and market products that encourage normal and healthy brain development in fetuses, pre-term infants, babies and children.

Babynostics, founded by Dr Michael Shleifer and Mr Laurent Benissan of SPRIM Ventures, is developing diagnostic tests to check if pre-term babies or expecting mothers need supplements to increase their LPC levels. The first test is expected to be available in 2018.

The company is launching the first maternal supplement product to have LPC-DHA in its composition in August 2017.

The company is also launching the first maternal supplement product to have LPC-DHA in its composition in August 2017.

Dr Rick Gelling, Chief Scientific Officer at Babynostics, explained, "A mother's body provides her foetus with DHA, which in part comes from her diet. However, dietary intake of DHA in expecting mothers is often far below optimal levels.   Taking the LPC-DHA supplement should provide the most effective supply of DHA to her unborn baby."

The license agreement between Duke-NUS and Babynostics was facilitated by the Centre for Technology and Development (CTeD), a commercialisation office at Duke-NUS. The agreement is a significant milestone for Duke-NUS, as it translates a fundamental biomedical research discovery to a healthcare solution available for the public.

CTeD Director, Professor David Epstein, said, "Duke-NUS have found the right partners to take Prof Silver's work to the next level of clinical application to improve peoples' health and lives."

Find out more about babynostics on their website