National University of Singapore

PATENT OPPORTUNITY

Four NUS Overseas College alumni – comprising Jeffrey Tiong from NOC in Bio Valley (Philadelphia), Guan Dian and Wang Guangchen from Silicon Valley, and Edmund Khoo from Stockholm – have teamed up to explore a business venture. Pooling their unique experience and talents, they formed Patsnap, a company which developed a professional patent search and analysis platform. Focusing on the fast-growing patent industry in China, Patsnap succeeded in attracting a million dollar investment from venture capital fund Accel-X and has since set up an office in Suzhou Industrial Park to tap into this lucrative market.

Patsnap partners: (from left) Wang Guangchen, Edmund Khoo, Guan Dian
and Jeffrey Tiong

SIMPLY CLEAR

SimpliClear^®, the world's only completely clear, customised orthodontic braces, is the brainchild of three NUS alumni. Mervyn Fathianathan, Renuga Gopal and Karen Teo co-founded BioMers, an NUS spin-off company that developed the revolutionary translucent orthodontic brace system made from a polymer composite. Renuga and Karen conducted the research for this technology when they were undergraduates. Biomers is now commercialising these nearly invisible braces, which straighten teeth as effectively as metallic braces. Although many SimpliClear^® clients use the product for aesthetic reasons, it is also used by patients with severe metal allergies. Launched in Singapore in 2010, the product is now available in several Asian markets, Europe and the United States.

The Biomers team: (from left) Karen Teo (co-founder), Bindusaran (pioneering employee), George Aliphtiras (co-founder), Renuga Gopal (co-founder), David Edwards (CEO) and Mervyn Fathianathan (co-founder)