CytoMed Therapeutics Limited announced that it has entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement (?RCA?) with Sengkang General Hospital Pte Ltd. (?SKH?) to establish proof-of-concept use of an injectable cartilage regeneration therapy that has been developed with donor-sourced, (allogeneic) umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (?UC-MSCs?) to treat cartilage injury. This injectable therapy will be implemented in vivo to support the application and commencement of a proposed Phase 1 clinical trial in Singapore, and is anticipated to complete within two years. The use of MSC as a potential treatment for tissue regeneration, inflammatory and regenerative diseases has been the subject of increasing interest in the global scientific community.

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a debilitating disease affecting Singapore?s aging population and the clinical trial will pioneer stem cell use for regenerative medicine in Singapore. UC-MSCs are a type of adult stem cells that can be isolated from the umbilical cord tissue after childbirth. These cells possess unique properties that have demonstrated to be promising for various therapeutic applications, especially when these cells are freshly harvested and isolated from the umbilical cord, as compared to MSCs derived from frozen tissues, of which the yield and quality may potentially suffer.

UC-MSCs are considered multipotent and are able to differentiate into different cell types, including bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle cells. They also exhibit immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties, making them attractive for regenerative medicine and immune-related disorders. Under the RCA, CytoMed will provide the allogeneic UC-MSC, processed and expanded in its own GMP laboratory while SKH will provide the infrastructure, manpower and scientific data analysis.

CytoMed is focused on cancer immunotherapies. The RCA has been established within a year of approval of CytoMed?s Phase 1 IIT with the National University Hospital of Singapore, which sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CytoMed?s novel allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (?CAR-T?), which is the first home-grown CAR-T therapy in Singapore, for the treatment of liquid and solid cancers.