Agilent Technologies and the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance metabolic heart failure research using human cardiac organoids. The partnership brings together NHCS’s expertise in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models and Agilent’s next-generation metabolic analysis platforms.
For laboratory leaders, this collaboration highlights the growing importance of organoid workflows, high-content metabolic profiling, and translational research models that could influence equipment decisions and operational planning.
Metabolic analysis and cardiac organoids take center stage
Metabolic heart failure—including diabetic heart failure and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction—remains a challenging area of cardiovascular medicine with limited therapeutic options. Under the agreement, NHCS researchers will integrate Agilent’s Seahorse XF Flex Analyzer into organoid-based workflows, enabling real-time measurements of oxygen consumption, energy use, and mitochondrial activity in three-dimensional cardiac tissues. These capabilities support earlier detection of metabolic dysfunction before structural or clinical symptoms appear.
“Our collaboration with Agilent allows us to advance the study of heart disease using patient-specific beating heart cells. By combining NHCS’s expertise with Agilent's advanced technology, we can detect the earliest changes in how heart cells use energy before visible damage occurs. This accelerates the discovery of new therapies and safely testing them, ultimately offering hope to heart failure patients who currently have limited treatment options,” said Derek Hausenloy, director of the National Heart Research Institute Singapore.
How the workflow strengthens translational pathways
NHCS has established a strong track record in modelling monogenic cardiac diseases using iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, contributing to several therapeutic candidates now in clinical evaluation. Integrating this platform with Agilent’s tools and NHCS’s Preclinical Platform for Development of Therapeutics for Heart Failure (PREVENT-HF) positions the collaboration to:
- Identify metabolic drivers of disease progression
- Evaluate mechanistic hypotheses using physiologically relevant organoid models
- Accelerate therapeutic discovery and preclinical testing
- Improve assessment of safety and efficacy in human-derived cardiac tissues
These combined capabilities create a streamlined research pipeline that connects early discovery with translational validation.
Agilent strengthens its cardiovascular research footprint in Singapore
The agreement builds on more than a decade of Agilent-led initiatives in Singapore, including a $38 million diagnostics research hub launched with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and National University Hospital in 2019, as well as the NUS-Agilent Center of Excellence in Cell Metabolism established in 2024. These partnerships support national efforts such as the Ministry of Health’s Project RESET and the Cardiovascular Metabolic Disease Translational Research Programme.
“Together with NHCS, we are bridging science and technology to reimagine how metabolic heart failure is understood and treated through translational research,” said Bharat Bhardwaj, vice president of APAC sales at Agilent. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to addressing the unmet needs in cardiovascular care while strengthening our leadership in the biomedical ecosystem.”
Collaboration accelerates metabolic heart failure research
For lab managers, the collaboration underscores emerging trends that may affect scientific operations:
- Rising demand for organoid-based research may drive investments in 3D culture platforms, advanced imaging, and functional assays
- Metabolic analysis tools, such as the Seahorse XF Flex Analyzer, require specialized training and integration into existing workflows
- Translational partnerships are increasing, creating opportunities for shared facilities and collaborative technology adoption
- Data-heavy metabolic workflows may require enhanced computing resources, LIMS integration, and robust reproducibility practices
As cardiac organoid and metabolic research continues to expand, lab leaders may want to assess equipment readiness, staff training needs, and infrastructure requirements to support next-generation cardiovascular research.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
