Media Coverage: Ongoing R&D to reduce manufacturing costs of CGT treatments while ensuring quality
Ongoing R&D to reduce manufacturing costs of cell and gene therapy treatments while ensuring quality
Singapore is using cell and gene therapy to transform its cancer treatments. Doctors say it offers relapsed blood cancer patients a 50 per cent chance of full remission. New biopharma programmes with a focus on cell and gene therapy aim to make these life-saving treatments more affordable, without compromising quality.
In this exclusive feature by Channel News Asia, Adj A/Prof Yap Eng Soo, Chief Medical Officer, Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS), shared that the pooling of resources in a national manufacturing facility such as ACTRIS will help achieve economies of scale and ultimately bring down the cost of such therapies.
The story also highlighted a patient profile, Mr Tang Ping Kee, who shared how a grim diagnosis of a rare brain cancer was transformed into a ray of hope through chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy.
For reference: In the recent Ministry of Trade and Industry Committee of Supply Debate 2025 on 6 Mar 2025, 2M Tan See Leng shared that cell therapies such as CAR-T have transformed treatment for certain blood cancers and demonstrated promise for autoimmune diseases but they remain complex and expensive to manufacture.
Media coverage can be accessed below: