Going Under the Hood of Singapore’s Cell Therapy Advanced Manufacturing Program
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Cell and gene therapies are set to revolutionize the future of medicine, but one of the major hurdles is the production of good quality cells cost-effectively and at scale.
Leveraging its strong biopharmaceutical manufacturing base, logistics connectivity, and global reputation of trust, Singapore is well placed to be a global leader in progressing the manufacturing of advanced cellular therapies and solving the issues of cost and scale.
Research, innovation and enterprise are cornerstones of Singapore’s national strategy to develop a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy and society, as you can see from the progress and innovation below.
A Long History of Innovation
In August 2023, The Advanced Cell Therapy and Research Institute, Singapore (ACTRIS) announced the opening of a new 2,000 sqm cell therapy facility to meet the increasing clinical demand for cell and gene therapy (CGT) treatments in Singapore.
The facility comprises 14 Good Manufacturing Practice-compliant (GMP) clean suites, four translational laboratories and one quality control laboratory – the largest national facility of its kind
SCG Cell Therapy also opened a new first-of-its-kind cell therapy GMP-certified facility and research and development center with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board at its headquarters in Singapore in July 2023.
Singapore was selected as the preferred location due to its world-class research and manufacturing infrastructure, a pool of GMP-certified manufacturing talent, and a business environment that is open to embracing new technologies.
A Multi-disciplinary Initiative
Going back further, Singapore previously announced in 2019 that it would be investing $80 million to develop core capabilities required for cell therapy manufacturing.
These include strategic programs that address the major gaps in advanced cellular therapies manufacturing; scale-up, automation, cell therapy product development and new technologies for the assessment of safety, efficacy and quality of cells to meet global regulatory and manufacturing standards.
This multi-disciplinary initiative brings together and strengthens Singapore’s ecosystem of advanced cell therapy manufacturing players – from academia and public-sector research performers such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), to hospitals and regulators – to support industry along the entire cell therapy manufacturing process value chain from pre-clinical research to proof of concept (POC) clinical trials and GMP manufacturing scale-up.
This end-to-end integrated platform enables companies at any stage of development to tap into the required capabilities and is one of the key advantages which set Singapore apart. In addition to the infrastructure, Singapore also possesses an array of interdisciplinary capabilities and expertise spanning immunotherapy, regenerative medicines and critical manufacturing analytics.
Singapore’s regulatory agencies also play integral roles in this initiative, so that companies who work in Singapore will be assured that capabilities developed here comply with regulatory and GMP requirements. These agencies are committed to developing a strong pipeline of talent for the industry in the field of cell therapy manufacturing.
Unblocking Bottlenecks
Some examples of the capabilities being developed to unblock bottlenecks in the research process and accelerate the commercialization of cell therapy products include:
- Label-free critical quality attributes (CQA) for cell quality and potency assessments
- Sensitive and rapid detection of adventitious agents for safety and quality assessments
- Closed and automated bioreactor systems for cell expansion, with reduced cell expansion cycles and manpower requirements
- Media formulation and design for optimized cell development and expansion, with reduced need for costly reagents and additives
- Strong expertise in immuno-monitoring and GMP genetic modification of immune cells for immunotherapy
- GMP scale manufacturing process and development
- Novel and/or optimized models for pre-clinical validations highly co-related to therapeutic outcomes
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If you’d like to get the latest insight into the world of cell and gene therapy manufacturing, why not register for Advanced Therapies Week 2025 and check out the dedicated tracks.
