How biotech has the potential to prevent pandemics

With the COVID-19 pandemic still fresh in public memory, Leyden Labs — a Dutch biotechnology company — is developing a novel solution aimed at preventing pandemics entirely. Rather than focusing on diagnostics or vaccines, the company is working on a nasal spray that blocks respiratory viruses at the point of entry, before they can take hold in the body. Notably, this promising technology is being developed in the Netherlands, with crucial R&D being done in Singapore.

The nasal spray is currently undergoing clinical trials and is being developed under Leyden Labs with R&D support from Leyden Labs Asia, its regional arm. Previously known as CoV Biotechnology, the company was acquired by Leyden Labs earlier this year. According to Dr Rosemary Tan, former CEO of CoV Biotechnology and current CEO of Leyden Labs Asia, the decision to expand into Asia was strategic.

She noted that regional markets tend to be more receptive to new technologies and more aligned with regulatory processes. Singapore, in particular, stood out for its leadership in the region, strong regulatory and manufacturing infrastructure, and business-friendly environment. CoV Biotechnology was likely chosen due to its Covid related products, which contributed to ending the pandemic.

How the technology works

Respiratory viruses, including various strains of influenza and coronaviruses, typically enter the body through the nose. Once inside the body, these viruses bind to the surface of cells using specific proteins, allowing them to be let into the cell itself. These proteins function a little like keys (on the virus) and locks (on the surface of the cell). Inside the cell, the virus hijacks the cell’s machinery to replicate itself, causing numerous viruses to emerge and infect the body, overwhelming the immune system and causing illness.

What makes it difficult to prevent viruses is their sheer diversity. For example, there are over 140 subtypes of influenza alone. A specific vaccine has to be developed tailored to the respective virus. This is why vaccines take a while to develop, and is the reason why influenza vaccines are regional.

Leyden Labs’ approach bypasses this problem by preventing the virus from entering cells in the first place. The nasal spray contains antibodies that bind to the surface of the body’s cells, preventing viruses from binding to and therefore entering the cell. In an analogy, antibodies effectively block the cell’s locks so that viruses cannot use their keys to enter. Without being able to enter the cells, viruses are unable to replicate, and therefore the body’s immune system can eliminate viruses before infection occurs.

According to Tan, the technology is able to offer broad protection against many virus strains. Since it works locally in the nasal cavity — where respiratory viruses first land — the spray acts quickly. Furthermore, Leyden Labs Asia also believes that the spray can prevent infection if used after exposure to respiratory disease, though this aspect is currently undergoing clinical trial.

Biotech and Singapore

The acquisition also offers perspective into Singapore’s investment into the biotech sector. Success in this field is never guaranteed — developing new drugs and technology requires long timelines, substantial investment, and highly specialised infrastructure. Building a biotech company is difficult too, as it demands a capable, experienced workforce, scientific innovation, and a balance between the urgency necessary to be competitive and the patient required for R&D.

Still, Tan believes that Singapore offers a higher chance of success than anywhere else in the region. Over the last two decades, the country’s biotech industry has shown signs of real growth and maturity, encouraged by the government’s continuous support, including Budget 2025 setting aside $1 billion for the biotech and semiconductor field.

After all, another pandemic is not a remote possibility, but an inevitability. The only way to reduce the impact of such global health crises is through innovation. Technologies like Leyden Labs’ nasal spray, that offer the possibility of preventing respiratory diseases altogether, serve as a great example to the importance of the industry and why Singapore is choosing to establish itself as a biotech hub.