Haleon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) and PC Biome — a start-up co-founded by Dr Patricia Conway, visiting professor from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) SCELSE and NTU’s Emeritus Distinguished University Professor Staffan Kjelleberg, on Nov 21.
The tripartite partnership will involve research on Haleon’s existing products, including mechanisms of action, and the formulation of new products, including those targeting the gut-immune axis.
NTU-SCELSE research focuses on biofilm and its implications across a wide range of subjects — including human health, environment, and food packaging.
PC Biome, on the other hand, is focused on developing functional foods and feeds that improve health by harnessing the power of the microbiome and is backed by scientific research. One of its innovations is a probiotic oat drink, made by fermenting oats and honey using one of its in-house probiotic bacteria.
Speaking to NutraIngredients after the MOU signing, Alicia Ng, vice president and head of R&D for Wider Asia at Haleon, said a key objective of the partnership was to speed up microbiome research and innovation.
NTU-SCELSE, through its network of microbiome experts, could help connect the company with microbiome experts globally.
“NTU-SELSCE came to be one of the good partners that we thought we could establish a relationship with. We’ve looked at their rich network of experts around the world, and through NTU-SELSCE, we can be connected to all these experts,” said Ng.
Professor Conway, who co-founded PC Biome, was one of the experts that Haleon was connected to via NTU-SELSCE.
Start small, think big
The partnership has its roots in two projects, in which NTU-SELSCE conducted laboratory research on two commercially available products by Haleon. One was an oral toothpaste, and the other was a health supplement for supporting sleep and rest.
The success of the two initial projects, which took place over the past three years, subsequently culminated in an official announcement of the MOU for further collaboration.
The supplement studied was Centrum Sleep, a product formulated based on existing scientific literature to meet consumer demand for sleep aid support.
Available in Taiwan and Singapore, the product was also one of Haleon’s first probiotics offerings.
“This is an example of how we usually want to approach partnership - starting from something small and easier to work with before we invest further time and research to study other topics,” said Ng.
Findings from an ex vivo gut model showed that supplementing Centrum Sleep could increase butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that supports sleep and calm.
“The preclinical data gave us good evidence and also an indication for us to further the study and eventually progress to a clinical trial if possible.
“We are in the midst of writing a report on the preclinical data, and will communicate the findings shortly with consumers,” said Ng.
Scientific data also helps the company communicate the mode of action more effectively.
“We want to understand the mode of action and how the microbiome brings about health benefits, so that we can have science-based consumer stories to tell and showcase the superiority of our products,” said Ng.
Aside from NTU-SCELSE and PC Biome, Haleon’s other microbiome R&D partnership is with AMILI.
“We will look at pre-, pro-, postbiotic, VMS (vitamins, minerals, supplements) - which is our bread and butter, and any functional ingredient that can have a combined effect to deliver immunity, calm, and sleep benefits. The goal is to develop benefit-based products.”
MoU signing
The MoU signing ceremony was attended by representatives from all three parties, including Carl Haney, Haleon’s chief research & development officer, who joined the company in August, Haleon APAC President Dr Keith Choy, Professor Kah-Leong Lim, associate VP (Biomedical & Life Sciences), Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, at NTU, SCELSE Centre Director Professor Alain Filloux, and Professor Conway.
“SCELSE, to me, is strategically positioned to address all these — from understanding the mechanism of interactions in biofilms and microbiome to translational opportunities,“ said Professor Lim.
“As an MNC consumer healthcare company, it is not a surprise to me to learn that Haleon appreciates the importance of the microbiome through all aspects of human health. At NTU, we are very excited about this opportunity to extend the capacity and capabilities through SCELSE to provide the science to support Haleon’s applications in microbiome,” he added.
“The attitude of Haleon is to put science behind their products, to understand the mechanisms, and it’s such a pleasure to work with the company that has that attitude...At PC Biome, we are harnessing the microbiome for health and benefit, it can be supplements, as well as functional foods and ingredients,” said Professor Conway.
The event concluded with a tour of SCELSE’s laboratories — including the Advanced Biofilm Imaging Facility, Bioreactor Facility, and High-Throughput Sequencing Facility.
