PRECISE partners with Temus to build joint innovation center for Singapore’s genomic healthcare

The agreement was signed at the Precision Health Partnerships in Singapore event and witnessed by Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.

SINGAPORE—Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE), and Temus have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Innovation Centre (JIC) in Singapore, supporting Phase III of the country’s National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme.

The agreement was signed at the Precision Health Partnerships in Singapore event and witnessed by Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.

The JIC will focus on the technology, data infrastructure and specialist capabilities needed to support the secure use of genomic information in research and healthcare.

Supporting NPM Phase III

Launched in November 2025, NPM Phase III aims to sequence the genomes of about 10% of Singapore’s resident population, or up to 450,000 people.

The programme is also evaluating how to incorporate genomic information into clinical care and national health strategies while supporting research into disease and health.

PRECISE Executive Director Professor Patrick Tan said the initiative requires more than expanding genomic sequencing.

He said the programme also needs systems that can manage genomic data securely and responsibly while supporting both research and clinical applications.

The JIC builds on collaboration between PRECISE and Temus that began in 2024.

Their work includes developing secure genomics infrastructure capable of handling about 13.6 petabytes of data, with plans to scale beyond 60 petabytes.

The partners also aim to reduce data processing timelines from weeks to days and generate genome-wide association results from 100,000 genomes.

Building infrastructure and expertise

Under the new centre, scientists and engineers will develop shared platforms to process and analyse whole-genome data.

The partners also plan to establish processes for evaluating emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence tools, alongside appropriate data governance and security safeguards.

Temus CEO Sng Ren Yeong said precision health requires more than technology, pointing to the need for trusted data, engineering expertise, safeguards, and skilled professionals who can integrate these components.

The collaboration will also explore training pathways for consultants and engineers specialising in computational biology and bioinformatics.

These specialists are expected to work with research and technology teams on live projects, providing practical experience in genomics and precision medicine.

Applying AI to precision health

For Temus, the JIC will also provide a healthcare application for its AI Foundry, which forms part of Singapore’s National AI Impact Programme.

Launched in May 2026, the initiative is developing and deploying 50 Singapore-based AI professionals through live enterprise projects. Its work includes AI systems, data pipelines, governance frameworks and human-in-the-loop processes for regulated environments.

The partnership comes as Singapore moves NPM from population genomics research towards clinical implementation.

Phase III involves the country’s three public healthcare clusters and is intended to generate evidence on the clinical and economic implications of using genomics at population scale. 

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