Pain relief for GI Joes, giant leap for iX Biopharma
You might expect a pharmaceutical company founder to have a background in science or medicine. Instead, Catalist-listed iX Biopharma (SGX:42C) was founded by Eddy Lee, who spent most of his career in unrelated fields, from hospitality to telecommunications.
Instead of a formal education in science or something related, Lee earned his business degree from Australia’s Curtin University. Over the years, Lee, the chairman and CEO of iX Biopharma, held management roles at companies, including Genting Group in Malaysia, CDL Hotel International in Hong Kong, Star Cruises in Singapore and Amcon Telecommunications in Australia.
Lee recalls that after retiring from the corporate world, he was living in Perth when a group of Australian scientists approached him for support for a small study on fentanyl, a pain relief medication commonly used during labour and delivery.
He was drawn further in and soon asked to support an expanded study aimed at developing a more efficient drug delivery method than injections or drips: sublingual medication that dissolves under the tongue.
Lee, presumably aware of the challenges but also recognising the commercial potential, agreed and soon after, the company was founded in 2008. “That’s how I got started in the pharmaceutical space,” he says in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
Since pharmaceutical companies entered capital markets, the journey for upstarts in this space can be brutal. Companies could spend years on capital-intensive, multi-phase product development and clinical trials before receiving the necessary approvals to sell their products. The lucky few would become so-called “blockbusters,” resulting in epic paybacks; others would soon find newer, more effective competitors in the pipeline. Along the way, there will be ups and downs, and investors’ patience will be tested more than once.
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/corporate-moves/pain-relief-gi-joes-giant-leap-ix-biopharma