Plasticell signs stem cell research collaborations with leading Singapore academic institutions

Plasticell, a developer of stem cell technologies and cell-based therapies, has announced that it has signed agreements with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to progress its therapeutic stem cell pipeline.

"We are delighted to have put together this collaboration which has such enormous potential for the creation of next-generation stem cell products," commented Yen Choo, founder and executive chairman of Plasticell.

Separate agreements with the two Singapore research centres encompass technology licensing, collaborative research and scientific exchange visits.

Plasticell will initially collaborate with the laboratories of Peter Dröge (School of Biological Sciences, NTU) and Farid Ghadessy (p53Lab, A*STAR) to apply proprietary genome editing technology to insert functional multi-transgene cassettes into specific loci of human stem cell lines. The engineered lines will be used by Plasticell in multiple projects focused on precisely directed stem cell differentiation, phenotypic screening for drug discovery and in next-generation immuno-oncology applications.

About Plasticell

Plasticell is a biotechnology company leading the use of high throughput technologies to develop stem cell therapies. The Company’s therapeutic focus is in hematopoietic stem cell therapy, anaemia and thrombocytopenia, cancer immunotherapy and diabetes/obesity. Plasticell’s Combinatorial Cell Culture (CombiCult) platform technology, allows it to test very large numbers of cell culture variables in combinations to discover optimal laboratory protocols for the manipulation of stem cells and other cell cultures and has received a number of industry awards including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation and the R&D 100 Award.

About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore’s lead public sector agency that spearheads economic oriented research to advance scientific discovery and develop innovative technology. Through open innovation, we collaborate with our partners in both the public and private sectors to benefit society. As a Science and Technology Organisation, A*STAR bridges the gap between academia and industry. Our research creates economic growth and jobs for Singapore, and enhances lives by contributing to societal benefits such as improving outcomes in healthcare, urban living, and sustainability. We play a key role in nurturing and developing a diversity of talent and leaders in our Agency and Research Institutes, the wider research community and industry. A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities primarily located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis.

About Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.

The University is ranked 13th in the world, and has also been named the world’s top young university for the last three years running.