Singapore's biodiversity may provide potential cures for diseases

By Foo Siew Shyan, Channel NewsAsia
19 July 2007

SINGAPORE: You may think that Singapore lacks biodiversity, but the latest collaboration between National Parks Board and an international pharmaceutical company may just prove you wrong.

Drug discovery company MerLion Pharmaceuticals and National Parks Board have inked an agreement to tap into Singapore's diverse plants, animals and micro-organisms.

The company will collect samples from here to support drug discovery that's based on natural products.

Singapore is one of many stops the company collects samples from.

The move will boost MerLion's library, which now contains more than 100,000 micro-organisms.

Royalties from any successfully produced drug will also come back to Singapore. – CNA/ac