STDR

The STDR 2022 (Apr) Roadshow was held on 22 April 2022 and featured an introduction to the STDR grant call, a talk on the attributes of a strong STDR application, and a presentation by PRECISE on Asian population genomics for drug development. The recording can be accessed here and the STDR roadshow deck can be downloaded below.

STDR 2022 Roadshow Deck

Launch of 2022 (Apr) Grant Call
The STDR grant call is opened for submission of Letters of Intent for the Pilot stage from 25 April 2022 to 8 June 2022, 5pm.

About the Grant

The Singapore Therapeutics Development Review (STDR) is a national-level grant call implemented by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in partnership with our strategic partners, the Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) and National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC).

STDR aims to boost the quality and quantity of drug development and biotech pipelines in Singapore through 2 key features:

Phased funding support to potential high-value drug discovery and development projects from the local research community, based on the maturity and industry-readiness of projects; and
Mentoring from leading entrepreneurs, innovators and/or venture capitalists, and training through bootcamps, workshops and/or seminars, to provide dedicated guidance and upskilling opportunities to grant awardees.

STDR PRE-PILOT AND PILOT STAGES

The STDR (Pilot) is called twice a year, typically in April and September. The STDR (Pre-Pilot) is called once a year, typically in September. It is highly encouraged but optional to have a clinical Co-Investigator or collaborator.

Pre-Pilot
Note that the Apr 2022 grant call is not applicable for Pre-Pilot.
The Pre-Pilot stage aims to support earlier-stage and more exploratory, proof-of-concept projects that have some preliminary data. Stream 1 (Target Validation) will support single target/single asset projects and will be facilitated by EDDC as a continuation of the Target Translation Consortium (TTC) scheme from RIE2020. Stream 2 (Platform Development) will support platform discovery projects and will be facilitated by SMART.

Pilot
The Pilot stage aims to support more mature projects that have more data and have already been validated to a certain degree, or already have a commercialisation plan. The Pilot stage aims to identify high value therapeutic projects within the community and render them the right support to achieve commercial success. Both single target/single asset drug development projects and platform technologies projects may be considered.

Pilot awardees will attend mentoring sessions to receive advice and support from leading entrepreneurs and innovators (including VCs, biotech CEOs, or experts from EDDC). Mentors will provide advice on matters relating to the development and commercial strategy, including marketing, business modelling and pitch practice/advice.

Projects may enter the STDR Pilot workflow via 2 routes:

Direct submission of Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Pilot stage, or
Successful Pre-Pilot projects would be invited to submit a full proposal to the Pilot stage upon recommendation by the respective Pre-Pilot evaluation committees.¹

¹ This pathway would also be applicable to successfully completed and thematically relevant Target Translation Consortium (TTC) and SMART Ignition Projects from RIE2020. Please write to the grant secretariat for more information.

Thematic Area

STDR will fund therapeutic projects in small molecules, large molecules, cell and gene therapies and platform technologies.

Funding Principles

Pre-Pilot
Note that the Apr 2022 grant call is not applicable for Pre-Pilot.
Up to S$100k per project (including 30% indirect costs) over a maximum of 1 year.

Pilot
A total of S$830K may be awarded for Pilot Phase 1 and Phase 2 funding. Projects will be assessed at the end of the first year to determine eligibility to receive Phase 2 funding.

Phase 1: up to S$330k per project (including 30% indirect costs) over a maximum of 1 year.
Phase 2: up to S$500k per project (including 30% indirect costs) over a maximum of another year.

Project teams may set aside a portion of their budget to work with their institution’s commercialisation office to develop a commercialisation plan during Phase 2.

Eligibility Criteria

Selection of successful proposals would be based on the following evaluation criteria:

Research and Scientific Merit of technology
Medical Need and Market Evaluation
Development Plans
Commercialisation and IP

Applicants may refer to the Information Sheet Annex A for a more detailed evaluation criteria for the STDR Pilot stage.

Applicants are required to fulfill the following criteria at the point of application:

Lead Principal Investigator (PI) should:

Hold at least a 0.7 FTE primary appointment in a Singapore publicly funded research or tertiary institution;
Have the relevant scientific/technical background and necessary experience to direct the project being supported by the grant²

Exceptions to eligibility criteria will be considered on a case by case basis with the submission of a waiver request.
Please write to the grant secretariat before the submission of your application.

² Post-doctoral researchers who wish to apply for STDR should submit a letter from their supervisor declaring that (a) the supervisor supports the post-doctoral researcher's STDR application, (b) the contract of the post-doctoral researcher covers the entire STDR grant period, and (c) the grant body that is funding the post-doctoral researcher is agreeable to their application for STDR grants (if relevant).

Grant Call Timeline

Stage 1: Submission of LOIs
Launch of Call for Letters of Intent (LOIs)	25 April 2022
Deadline for Submission of LOIs on iGrants	8 June 2022, 5pm
Notification of Shortlisting Outcom	Mid-August 2022
Stage 2: Full Proposal (For shortlisted applicants only)
Deadline for Submission of Full Proposal	Mid-September 2022 (4 weeks from shortlisting outcome)
Presentation to Review Panel*	Early November 2022 (tentative)
Award	January 2023 (tentative)

Applicants who are shortlisted for Pilot full proposal submission must ensure they are available to attend all meetings marked (*) above.

Application Procedure

Applicants are required to submit their applications via the iGrants website: https://igrants-app.a-star.edu.sg/ by 8 June 2022, 5pm (Singapore time).

Please submit your application to the “Singapore Therapeutics Development Review 2022 (April) Pilot” grant call. Only complete applications submitted on iGrants by the deadline will be accepted. Applicants are advised to submit their applications early in the event of technical errors with the iGrants website.

Applications must be fully endorsed by the applicant, applicants’ respective Industry and Enterprise Offices (IEOs) and Directors of Research (DORs). Applicants are strongly encouraged to approach their respective IEO representatives and DORs early to give sufficient time to gather input and endorsement.

More details on the grant application steps using iGrants can be found in the Information Sheet Annex B.

Application Materials

For Enquiries

For queries related to iGrants, please reach out to A-STAR_OGA@hq.a-star.edu.sg

For queries related to STDR Pilot, please reach out to:
Dr Tan Yun Xuan (A*STAR) tan_yun_xuan@hq.a-star.edu.sg
Dr Siti Munirah (A*STAR) siti_munirah@hq.a-star.edu.sg

SINGAPORE THERAPEUTICS DEVELOPMENT REVIEW (STDR) 2022 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

STDR 2022 (Apr) Events