MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A*STAR PARTNERS ROCHE TO DEVELOP NEW CANCER THERAPEUTICS
Partnership with Roche Pharma Research and Early Development leverages a
unique discovery by A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute to develop
new approaches for cancer detection and treatment
Singapore—A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) has entered
into an agreement with one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical company,
Roche, to identify novel drug candidates for the detection and treatment of
cancer. The partnership brings together BTI’s capabilities in novel antibody
discovery and Roche’s expertise in developing monoclonal antibody (mAbs) 1
therapeutics, opening up the possibility of improved treatment for cancer, a
leading cause of death worldwide2.
The collaboration makes use of BTI’s discovery of a new mechanism where
antibodies can directly target and destroy cancer cells, which has the potential for
an entirely new class of cancer treatment. Cancer cells may be distinguished
from normal cells by their elevated levels of sugar on the cell surface. The mAbs
discovered and generated by BTI are able to recognise these sugar targets and
allow more accurate identification of cancer cells as compared to traditional
antibodies that only target proteins. mAbs generated by BTI are also unique in
having a novel mechanism of action; they cause pores to form on the surface of
cancer cells, leading to cell degradation and the eventual death of these
diseased cells.
Dr Andre Choo, Principal Scientist at BTI and lead investigator for the project,
said, “It is exciting to be able to generate a new class of mAbs that can
1
Monoclonal antibodies are made by identical immune cells, allowing them to bind specifically to the same
substance that provokes an immune response.
2
According to the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, there were 8.2
million cancer deaths worldwide in 2012.
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specifically recognise sugars and lead to rapid death of diseased cells. This
opens up new strategies to target and kill cancer cells.”
Based on this discovery, scientists from BTI have developed a pipeline of mAbs
for major cancers found in Singapore. The partnership with Roche will allow new
diagnostic tests and cancer treatments to be developed more quickly and to be
brought earlier to patient care. Such treatments could complement and augment
existing cancer drugs and result in more effective and safer treatments for cancer
patients.
Prof Lam Kong Peng, Executive Director of BTI, said, “This collaboration
underscores the effectiveness of BTI’s antibody research and allows us to
leverage on Roche’s expertise to develop novel antibody-based therapeutics. We
are confident that this will be the start of a long and fruitful partnership that will
not only benefit human health but also the biologics industry.”
Dr. Juan-Carlos Lopez, Head of the Roche Pharma Research and Early
Development Academic Relations and Collaborations, said: ”Accessing external
innovation through partnerships with public sector research institutes is crucial for
identifying first-in-class or best-in-class opportunities. Bringing together the knowhow of BTI and the expertise of Roche increases the chance of success in
developing novel antibody-based therapeutics targeting both cancer and cancer
stem cells which have the potential to revolutionize how we treat cancer ”
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IMAGES:
BTI’s mAbs have a novel mechanism of action; causing membrane damage to cancer
cells that result in cell death. The image on the left shows untreated cancer cells, while
the image on the right depicts antibody-treated cancer cells with lesions and pores on
the cell surface
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Enclosed:
Annex A – Biography of Dr Andre Choo
For media queries and clarifications, please contact:
Ms Vanessa Loh
Senior Officer, Corporate Communications
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Tel: +65 6826 6395
Email: [email protected]
________________________________________________________________
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's
lead public sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to
drive economic growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based
and innovation driven economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and
development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore’s manufacturing
sector and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic
clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in
industry.
A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and
engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis, as well as
their vicinity. These two R&D hubs house a bustling and diverse community of
local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR’s
research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories.
For more information on A*STAR, please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.
About the Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI)
Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) is a member of the Agency for Science,
Technology and Research (A*STAR). Established in 1990 as the Bioprocessing
Technology Unit, it was renamed the Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) in
2003. The research institute’s mission is to develop manpower capabilities and
establish cutting-edge technologies relevant to the bioprocessing community.
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Some of the key research areas include expression engineering, animal cell
technology, stem cell research, microbial fermentation, downstream purification
and analytics.
For more information about BTI, please visit http://bti.a-star.edu.sg.
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ANNEX A
ANNEX – Biography of Dr Andre Choo
Dr Andre Choo leads one of two Stem Cell Groups at A*STAR’s Bioprocessing
Technology Institute (BTI). His group focuses on the discovery of novel
monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and elucidating key signalling pathways regulating
stem cell fates. His vision is to unlock the potential of mAbs for cell therapy, in
vivo imaging, disease diagnostics and therapeutics.
Dr Choo obtained his PhD in 2001 from the University of Technology Sydney
focusing on the molecular engineering of antibodies. This work led to the
discovery of a mAb that is toxic to cells for the treatment of kappa-myelomas, a
type of bone marrow cancer. The discovery also led to the formation of Immune
System Therapeutics Ltd, a spin-off company based in Australia.
Moving back to Singapore, he continued to pursue his interest in antibodies and
was instrumental to the discovery of mAb 84, an antibody that selectively kills
undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells, making cell therapy safer. This mAb has
since been licensed to Millipore and Enzo Life Sciences, and resulted in the
formation of VeriStem Technologies. VeriStem Technologies, a spin-off from BTI,
was awarded the Biospectrum Asia-Pacific Emerging Company of the Year
Award in 2013.
Leveraging on BTI’s in-house expertise, he developed the Antibody Discovery
Platform (ADP), with the focus of discovering and characterizing new biologics
for cell separation, diagnostic and therapeutic applications against stem cells and
cancer cells. Dr Choo and his team collaborates actively and closely with
academics, clinicians and industry to drive the development of mAbs from bench
toward clinical applications.
He currently holds the position of Principal Scientist at BTI and Adjunct Professor
at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, NUS.
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