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Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS)

Media Coverage: Ongoing R&D to reduce manufacturing costs of CGT treatments while ensuring quality

15 March 2025

Singapore is pioneering CAR-T cell therapy to treat blood cancer, offering patients a 50% chance of full remission. Find out how ongoing R&D aims to make these treatments more affordable.

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 (opens in new tab), 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 (opens in new tab), 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.

CNA news segment showing Prof Yap Eng Soo, Chief Medical Officer of ACTRIS, with lab workers in protective gear.

Media coverage can be accessed below: