For all the hype that surrounds it, medical innovation is more a slow burn than flashy breakthroughs, says Michelle Evaristo.

“It’s a series of small increments that lead to milestones,” explains the Chief Operating Officer of Temasek-owned life sciences investor and venture builder, ClavystBio. “What we do is provide founders and entrepreneurs with the necessary resources to bring their products, whether new medicines, therapies, or treatments, to market.

“And because we work so closely with them, we live and breathe their successes and setbacks.”

Seconded from Temasek in 2022, Michelle’s work on ClavystBio began much earlier. As a director of Temasek’s Enterprise Development Group (EDG), she led a cross-functional team that identified a gap – and commercial opportunity – to accelerate the commercialisation of breakthrough healthcare innovations in Singapore.

It is a long process that many investors shy away from, she says. “It takes time to move a product from concept to market, and conviction to ride the ups and downs. But you don’t lose sight of what you’re trying to do, and you keep your eye on the long game.”

It’s what Temasek means when it talks about generational investing, she says.

“My proudest moments are when my children ask me what I do. I tell them that I'm helping to bring new cures closer so they can live happier, healthier and fuller lives.”

The ecosystem advantage

A former Credit Suisse investment banker, Michelle joined Temasek in 2010, first in an investment role, then in the Investment Group Office, “part of the backbone that people don’t necessarily see when you’re talking about an investment company.” She spent five years working on strategy, portfolio analysis and construction, and policies and procedures, before moving to EDG in 2018, keen to apply the investment and operational skill sets that she had acquired in her previous roles.

“EDG is Temasek’s ‘building engine’, and when you’re looking at building a platform from scratch, you’re looking for certain system gaps,” she says. “We saw that the universities in Singapore had a rich base of translatable ideas, but that these were slow to progress into commercial opportunities.”

 The question for Michelle and her team was if this could be accelerated, and if there was a commercial opportunity here for Temasek.

“The answer was a definitive yes,” says Michelle, who led the team and seized the opportunity to help set up and operate ClavystBio. “I wanted to see the idea come to fruition, and have a hand in building it as a business.”

Her resolve was strengthened when COVID-19 hit in 2020. Pregnant with her third child in the midst of one of the worst pandemics, Michelle found herself more hopeful than fearful. “Global trade had been cut off, and Singapore had to turn to innovation, from test kits to mobile laboratories,” she recalls. “Temasek’s concerted efforts to bring much needed innovations to market demonstrated how quickly we could change the trajectory of health.”

Even as the pandemic persisted, work on ClavystBio continued. “We really started from the ground up – building up the systems, processes, people and key capabilities within the team,” recalls Michelle.

From a two-person virtual office in January 2022, ClavystBio is today an 18-person strong company headquartered at Node 1, a 15,000 sq ft  collaboration space at Singapore Science Park, a stone’s throw from the National University of Singapore, the National University Hospital, and the life sciences ecosystem at Biopolis. The intention, Michelle says, is to provide promising life sciences companies with the necessary resources to launch and grow their ideas – and space is one such resource. Life sciences companies that have “graduated” from incubators can plug and play at Node 1, taking advantage of the communal facilities, shared and private laboratories, and offices as they progress to their next milestones.

“One thing that we are really good at in Temasek is what I call ‘ecosystem investing’, the way we companies that complement each other, and foster partnerships across the industry,” she says. “At ClavystBio, we can tap into that expertise and leverage those partnerships.”

Node 1 is now home to five of ClavystBio’s 11 portfolio companies and partners, and where researchers, scientists and like-minded investors inch closer towards commercialising breakthrough innovations. Its portfolio companies tackle areas ranging from early diagnosis of Alzheimer's and dementia, and better postoperative pain management, to new ways to treat inflammation and infectious and metabolic diseases.

“We want to be the go-to partner for investing and venture building in life sciences in Singapore, supporting companies as they commercialise and globalise life-saving – and life-changing – medical solutions.”

Co-creating change

Michelle counts her time at ClavystBio as a high point of her career, and something that has also made her a better investor. “You tend to think of investing as primarily a numbers-driven process, but having built a business, you want to go deeper, and understand intimately the operations, people and capabilities of the company that help achieve the returns you are looking for.” 

Michelle is looking forward to more opportunities in Temasek and ClavsytBio to build and grow companies that address global needs and have an impact on society.

“It is not very often in your career that you are given the opportunity to co-create the impact that you want to see, not just for your generation, but for generations to come.”

“Each day is a chance to make a difference.”