Merck-DDOP Partnership (Milliplex® Assays Discovery and Education Partnership)

The Drug Discovery and Optimization Platform (DDOP) under NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine has recently commissioned the new Luminex® INTELLIFLEX® instrument in the laboratory at the Department of Pharmacology.

The INTELLIFLEX® is a flow-based laser instrument with increased capabilities compared to previous Luminex® instruments, including a broader dynamic range and faster plate read time.

The instrument will be available for usage for all customers interested to run the Milliplex® assays. Please contact DDOP for more information.

The second joint webinar hosted on 28^th June 2023 between Merck and DDOP as part of the Milliplex® Assays Discovery and Education Partnership introduced drug discovery and development process from natural products, and results from Dr Winston Liao’s multiplexing assay.

“The initiative of this partnership between DDOP and Merck is a natural development because DDOP has been using the Milliplex® system to perform drug screening and biomarker identification” – Professor Wai-Shiu Fred Wong, Director of DDOP

The Drug Discovery and Optimization Platform (DDOP) under NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine hosts the Milliplex® technology via the Magpix® in the laboratory at the Department of Pharmacology.

Where DDOP has goals to reach out to the generation of young scientists and seasoned researchers regarding this technology, Merck, a commercial company as well as the producer of the kits used to run on the Magpix®, there is a common goal to bring the Milliplex® technology to the scientific and academic community.

With the combination of academia, scientific research and commercial technology offered by NUS and Merck, the ‘Milliplex® Assays Discovery and Education Partnership’ was formed officially on 31^st March 2022. “The aim of this DDOP-Merck collaboration is not only for discovery research support but also for education advancement”, adds Prof Wong.

The inauguration ceremony held on 19^th July 2022 officially celebrates the start of this new exciting partnership. This initiative is supported by Merck, represented by Mr. Alex Zong, the Head of Singapore & Malaysia, Science and Lab Solutions and also by Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, represented by Vice Dean Research Professor Chng Wee Joo, where they were the VIPs and signatories to officiate the MOU signing ceremony.

The very first joint webinar hosted on 27^th May 2022 between Merck and DDOP as part of the Milliplex® Assays Discovery and Education Partnership introduced common challenges in biomarkers detection, and drug efficacy and safety assessment, and results from Dr Winston Liao’s multiplexing assay.

The event saw 233 unique registrations and 112 live attendees.