Overview
In this session, our panel of thought leaders will be sharing their insights on the significance of using & living drugs; as a therapeutic, the key considerations in its application and manufacturing, patient and public perspectives on CGTs, and the market opportunities and challenges.
The repair of old, damaged, or diseased tissues using gene or cell therapies promises a future where people live longer, healthier lives. According to a McKinsey study, recent years have seen a steady acceleration in the number of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) on the market – more than 75 have been launched (including launches in individual markets, such as Japan, Russia, and South Korea) by the end of 2019. Many more are in development, offering the hope of revolutionary healthcare.
Yet, despite such early promise, the extent to which scientific breakthroughs in CGT will translate into similar advances in healthcare remains uncertain. The adoption of CGT faces almost the same challenges everywhere – technical issues, high costs, and concerns about long-term safety, for example.
In this session, our panel of thought leaders will be sharing their insights on the significance of using 'living drugs' as a therapeutic, the key considerations in its application and manufacturing, patient and public perspectives on CGTs, and the market opportunities and challenges.
Date: 29 September 2022, Thursday
Time: 4:00pm – 5:00pm (Singapore Time / UTC +8)
Programme:
4:00pm – 4:05pm: Introduction and Welcome
4:05pm – 5:00pm: Panel Discussion and Q&A on Tackling Chronic Disease with Cell and Gene Therapies with
- Dr Ong Lee Lee, Regulatory Consultant - Advanced Therapy Products Branch, Health Sciences Authority Singapore (HSA)
- Dr Anthony Tanoto Tan, Senior Research Fellow - Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS
- Dr Natasha Ng Hui Jin, Senior Research Fellow, A*STAR and Co-Founder, BetaLife
- Moderator: Dr Mayura Wagle, Director of Investor Relations and Scientific Corporate Communications, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals
Speakers' Profiles:
Dr Ong Lee Lee, Regulatory Consultant - Advanced Therapy Products Branch, Health Sciences Authority Singapore (HSA)
Dr Ong Lee Lee received her PhD in the area of cell and molecular biology at the National University of Singapore working on proteins involved in cytoskeleton and organelle motility. During her postdoctoral training in Germany, she focused on adult stem cell research for cardiac repair. Lee Lee joined the Health Sciences Authority in October 2008 as quality assessor for biologics and is currently the regulatory consultant at the Advanced Therapy Products Branch reviewing cell, tissue and gene therapy products.
Dr Anthony Tanoto Tan, Senior Research Fellow - Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore
Anthony Tan is currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme of DUKE-NUS Medical School. He earned his Bachelor of Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2007, and his PhD from the School of Medicine of NUS in 2012 working with Prof. Antonio Bertoletti.
His research interest centers on understanding the pathogenesis and immune response against Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection and the development of T cell based immunotherapy approaches against chronic HBV infection and HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
He is actively involved in clinical trials in Singapore and China to test the safety and efficacy of adoptively transferring T cells engineered against HCC with HBV integration in collaboration with Lion TCR Pte. Ltd. When the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, he applied his expertise in the analysis of virus-specific T cells to understand the role of SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells in the protection against severe pathology, develop a simple and robust new assay to analyze the SARS-CoV-2 T cell response, and study these virus-specific T cells in the upper respiratory compartment.
Dr Natasha Ng Hui Jin, Senior Research Fellow, A*STAR and Co-Founder, BetaLife
Dr Natasha Ng is a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, in the Stem Cells and Diabetes Lab. Her research seeks to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of diabetes using induced pluripotent stem cells, to uncover new therapeutic pathways for tackling the disease. She is driving several translational projects and, together with her PI, Dr Adrian Teo, recently spun out a company, BetaLife, to develop iPSC-based cell therapy for regenerative medicine in diabetes. Natasha graduated with a BSc in Biology at Imperial College London, followed by a DPhil in Medical Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2016. Since 2014 she has also been a co-founder of BioMe Oxford, a UK-based medical device start-up that is developing a targeted gastrointestinal sampling device together with a team from International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF). Natasha is currently an Advisor (previously President and Consulting Lead) of the non-profit platform Biotech Connection Singapore (BCS).
Moderator's Profile:
Dr Mayura Wagle, Director of Investor Relations and Scientific Corporate Communications, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals
Mayura Wagle is the Director of Investor Relations and Communications at ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage, immunology-focused company, where she leads the communications strategy for investor and medical communities. Mayura previously served as the founding Director of Scientific and Business Operations at PairX Bio, a cancer immunotherapy biotech, where she established all operations of the startup. She successfully led the incubation and seed-stage investment of PairX Bio as an Associate at EVX Ventures and is an active proponent of the biotech ecosystem, having served as Vice President at Biotech Connection Singapore. She received her PhD in immunology from the Australian National University and undertook her Bachelor of Science at the University of Sydney, UC Berkeley, and UNSW.
