CytoMed Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Singapore, has announced the full approval to proceed with Part 2 of its first-in-human Phase I clinical trial, ANGELICA. This trial evaluates the safety and efficacy of its patented donor-derived allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T cell) therapy for the treatment of various blood and solid tumors. The ANGELICA Trial is being conducted in collaboration with the National University Hospital (NUH) of Singapore.
The ANGELICA Trial is co-supported by the Singapore Ministry of Health through the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Office, and MOH Holdings Pte Ltd under the NMRC Clinical Trial Grant Industry Collaborative Trials (CTG-ICT) scheme (MOH-001646).
Novel Approach to CAR-T Therapy
CAR-T cell therapy involves modifying a patient's own T cells to target and destroy cancer cells. However, current CAR-T cell therapies use alpha-beta T cells, which carry a high risk of graft-versus-host disease when transferred between individuals. The ANGELICA Trial uses a rare subtype of immune cells known as gamma delta T cells, which can be modified from healthy donors and re-infused into unrelated patients without the need for matching, potentially reducing the risk of graft-versus-host disease.
According to Dr. Anand Jeyasekharan, lead investigator of the study and Senior Consultant, Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS), "ANGELICA is a first-in-class innovative approach to allogenic CAR-T cell therapy for solid cancers. This investigator-initiated trial protocol has been carefully developed with a team of experts in early phase trials, CAR-T cells and allogenic transplantation. With the support from the NMRC CTG-ICT, we eagerly look forward to initiating the enrolment of patients with relapsed cancer for whom this may represent a new option for treatment."
Trial Design and Patient Population
The ANGELICA Trial comprises two parts. Part 1 (donor protocol) is ongoing with the recruitment of healthy blood donors at NUH. Part 2 of the trial (recipient protocol) may now proceed with the recruitment of patients who have advanced cancers that are resistant to standard therapy regimens.
CytoMed's Expansion into Cell Therapies
CytoMed has also acquired the assets and license of a licensed cord blood bank in Malaysia. This acquisition will provide CytoMed with access to rare and precious cord blood donated for research and development, further strengthening its position in the cell therapy field. This new biotechnology arm will be undertaken through CytoMed’s subsidiary, LongevityBank Pte Ltd.
Dr. Tan Wee Kiat PhD, the Co-CEO and COO of CytoMed Therapeutics, stated, "We are thrilled to collaborate with NUH, and we hope to provide a meaningful contribution to the development of donor blood immuno-therapy for the treatment of advanced solid and haematological (liquid) tumours in Singapore and worldwide."
