Unlocking Genetic Medicines for Untreatable Heart Conditions with Nuevocor

Genetic cardiomyopathies are life-limiting heart conditions with no approved treatments to slow progression. Affecting adults in their prime, they often lead to heart failure and, ultimately, transplantation. While mutations in over 30 genes are known to cause these diseases, most biopharma efforts focus on just five.

Singapore-based biotech startup Nuevocor, founded in 2021, set out to change that. With support from A*STAR’s T-Up programme, the company advanced its proprietary Protein Organ Specific Interactome Analysis (PrOSIA) platform — pioneering a path to therapies that could address the full spectrum of genetic cardiomyopathies.

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Nuevocor found a gap in the health industry, despite there being over 30 genetic mutations that are known to cause cardiomyopathies, only 5 of them were being researched by biopharma companies. This was because there was a lack of research to understand why the mutations cause disease, thus the inability to design therapies to counteract them.

Thus, Nuevocor sought to:

1. Understand the mechanical basis of genetic cardiomyopathies across all known gene mutations.
2. Develop platform capabilities to rapidly translate disease insights into candidate medicines.

Mr Loo Jia Min (left), Senior Director at Nuevocor with Ms Giulia Varsano (right), scientist at A*STAR IMCB who was seconded to Nuevocor through the T-Up programme.

Through the T-up Programme, A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (A*STAR IMCB) scientist Giulia Varsano joined Nuevocor in 2023. Working closely with Nuevocor’s core scientific team, she improved the PrOSIA platform’s efficiency and throughput — accelerating the mapping of aberrant force transmission in heart cells and enabling faster identification of therapeutic targets.

With her assistance, they were able to:

• Optimise PrOSIA : shortening the time it took to discover disease mechanisms that could then be turned into potential genetic medicines.
• Developing a genetic medicine for LMNA-related dilated cardiomyopathy: They are aiming to gain FDA approvals and start clinical trials for their medicine that could slow the progression of LMNA cardiomyopathies, a particularly aggressive disease affecting about 1 million people globally.

T-Up allowed us to access the deep pool of talent that resides within A*STAR. Companies looking to strengthen their teams can consider tapping into this programme to gain access to individuals who have an interest in contributing to the local R&D ecosystem.

- Dr Tan Yann Chong, CEO and Co-founder of Nuevocor

• Expanding the mutated genes that could be treated: Expanded the scope of treatable genetic cardiomyopathies from beyond the 5 genes currently addressed by the industry, towards over 30 known mutations
• Obtained FDA approval for first-in-human trials in 2025, offering hope for patients with a median survival of just five years after diagnosis.
• Positioned Nuevocor for future growth through a scalable, mutation-agnostic platform technology