A new type of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy will be trialled at the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) in April 2023. The therapy, developed by home-grown biotechnology company CytoMed Therapeutics, uses a subtype of immune cells that can be modified from healthy donors and reinfused into unrelated patients without the need for matching.
The therapy will be trialled on nine to 18 patients who have lymphoma, multiple myeloma, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer or ovarian cancer - six of the most common types of cancers in Singapore.
"CAR-T cell therapy can be a life-saving treatment for many patients who are given a slim to no chance of survival. This is the first locally designed trial that uses an allogeneic method to modify cells to fight cancer," said Dr Esther Chan, Senior Consultant, Department of Haematology-Oncology, NCIS.
Dr Tan Lip Kun, Senior Consultant and one of the trial's investigators, added: "At NCIS, we have a well-established stem cell transplant and cellular therapy programme. We look forward to participating in the clinical trial using the first locally developed CAR-T cell therapy that uses cells from healthy donors to treat not just blood cancers, but also solid cancers."