Plenary Lecture 2

Prof David Virshup

David Virshup, M.D., joined Duke-NUS in 2007 as a Professor and the inaugural Director of the Programme in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology. He holds a joint appointment as Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University. Dr. Virshup received his medical and research training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, and established his first independent laboratory at the University of Utah. Following 17 years in Salt Lake City, in 2007 he was recruited by Pat Casey to join the newly established Duke-NUS Medical School.

Prof Virshup’s laboratory currently has two major interests: Wnt signaling and circadian rhythms. His team’s work in Wnt signaling led to Singapore’s first home-grown drug, a small molecule inhibitor of Wnt secretion, ETC-159. Prof. Virshup has been elected to several honorific societies including the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Association of American Physicians (AAP).

Session:

From Basic Science to Clinical Trials: Developing a WNT Pathway Inhibitor in Singapore
12 April 2024, 1000 - 1045hrs

The path to new and better therapies begins with understanding basic biology. Only then can we discern how biology goes wrong in various human diseases. When we know the basic problem, then we can devise new therapeutic approaches. Using this framework, I will discuss the development of Singapore’s first homemade drug, ETC-159, that targets aberrant Wnt signaling in cancer. The approach was based on basic science research, and in turn, ETC-159 has helped us understand the role of Wnt signaling in both cancer and in basic biology. The path of ETC159 through clinical trials will also be discussed.

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