SCG cell therapy and A*STAR collaborate on RNA therapeutic advancements

SCG Cell Therapy Pte Ltd (SCG), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapies for infectious diseases and their associated cancers, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with A*STAR BTI and NATi to advance RNA-based therapeutics manufacturing process development and clinical translation. 

The MoU enables the combination of A*STAR BTI and NATi's research and development (R&D) capabilities in bioprocessing technologies, biomarker discovery and target validation with SCG's local GMP manufacturing capability and global clinical development, to accelerate RNA-based cell and gene therapy and mRNA vaccine commercialisation from concept to patient-centric delivery.

In line with the MoU, the three parties will work together on collaborative projects related to RNA manufacturing process development, analytics, automation, and digitalisation. A joint laboratory will be established, including cGMP runs in SCG's pilot manufacturing facility in Singapore, as well as a joint talent development programme to train the next generation of scientists and engineers in Good Manufacturing Practices.

In April 2024, SCG and A*STAR announced the launch of joint laboratories for cellular immunotherapies with combined funding of close to S$30 million supported under Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan (RIE2025). The joint laboratories, established at SCG's GMP facility and A*STAR BTI's research facility, leverage SCG's and A*STAR's proprietary technologies to develop scalable GMP-grade induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and therapeutic products. The collaboration also bridges the expertise between public sector R&D and industry, consolidating resources from SCG Cell Therapy and A*STAR to advance innovative R&D towards GMP manufacturing.

RNA-based therapeutics represent a promising class of treatments that use nucleic acids such as RNA to target and modify the genetic material within cells. This approach has the potential to treat a variety of diseases, including cancers and viral infections, by leveraging the body's own mechanisms to produce therapeutic proteins or modify gene expression. The rapidly evolving field of RNA therapeutics has gained significant attention for its ability to address conditions that were previously difficult to treat with conventional therapies.