CytoMed Therapeutics completes cash acquisition of Cord Blood Banking Licence and Assets expanding CytoMed’s strategy to cord blood-derived biologics through subsidiary, LongevityBank
October 03 2024 - 7:00AM
CytoMed Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: GDTC) (“CytoMed” or
“Company”), a Singapore-based biopharmaceutical company focused on
harnessing its proprietary technologies to develop novel donor
blood-derived, cell-based allogeneic therapies for the treatment of
various cancers and aging-related diseases, has through its
subsidiary, IPSC Depository Sdn Bhd, acquired the licence and
certain assets of Cellsafe International Sdn Bhd (In Liquidation),
a Malaysian cord blood bank.
The acquisition includes (i) a cord blood
banking licence issued by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, (ii)
cryopreservation equipment with more than 12,000 cord blood units
(“CBUs”) and (iii) two freehold real estate properties totalling
189 square metres in which the operation is situated.
This acquisition will expand CytoMed’s strategy
in cell therapies as it now has access to rare and precious naïve
cord blood donated for research and development. There are abundant
clinical publications and evidence that cord blood offers a wide
range of opportunities in the fields of regenerative medicine and
aging diseases, including auto-immune diseases. This new
biotechnology arm will be undertaken through CytoMed’s subsidiary,
LongevityBank Pte Ltd. The latter is the holding company of IPSC
Depository Sdn Bhd which holds the cord blood banking licence
issued by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
Once considered medical waste, cord blood has
emerged as a valuable raw material with significant therapeutic
potential in cell therapies. However, cord blood is a rare and
expensive resource unlike adult blood mononuclear cells, which are
readily accessible and a common raw material for researchers. In
recent years, researchers have made significant strides in
harnessing the unique properties of cord blood derived cells for
combating auto-immune diseases and cancer, as well as promoting
healthy aging.
“This acquisition seeks to unlock the
therapeutic potential of umbilical cord blood and adds a new
strategic dimension targeting longevity and wellness,” said Evelyn
Tan, the newly appointed CEO of IPSC Depository Sdn Bhd. She added
“While CytoMed, our publicly listed holding company, will continue
to focus on cancer therapeutics, LongevityBank Pte Ltd will focus
exclusively on the regenerative medicine market, with its ultimate
goal to be spun off in the future.”
CytoMed’s co-CEO Dr Tan Wee Kiat added
“Mononuclear cells in the CBU are the starting raw material from
which many cell therapies can be derived. In addition to longevity
targets, there is clear synergy between CytoMed and IPSC Depository
to focus on deriving immune gamma delta T cells from cord blood to
fight cancers. We own our state-of-the-art, current Good
Manufacturing Practice laboratory to ensure quality and
cost-control, and have patented technologies to manufacture
clinical grade chimeric antigen receptor cells, or CAR-T cells as
adjunctive therapies, should the no-option patient’s doctor
recommend it.”
The Company will be inviting experts in
longevity field to join its board of directors or as advisers as it
seeks to develop and grow this subsidiary as a specialised
umbilical cord blood-derived cell therapy arm.
About CytoMed Therapeutics Limited
(CytoMed)
Incorporated in 2018, CytoMed was spun off from
the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR),
Singapore’s leading research and development agency in the public
sector. It is a biopharmaceutical company focused on harnessing its
licensed proprietary technologies, namely gamma delta T cell and
iPSC-derived gamma delta Natural Killer T cell, to create novel
cell-based allogeneic immunotherapies for the treatment of various
human cancers. The development of novel technologies has been
inspired by the clinical success of existing CAR-T therapies in
treating haematological malignancies, as well as the current
clinical limitations and commercial challenges in extrapolating the
CAR-T principle into the treatment of solid tumours. For more
information, please visit www.cytomed.sg and follow us on Twitter
(“X”) @CytomedSG,on LinkedIn, and Facebook
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements
concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or
performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that
are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company
uses words such as "may, "will, "intend," "should," "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar
expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is
making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ
materially from the Company's expectations discussed in the
forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to
uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the
following: the Company's plans to develop and commercialize its
product candidates; the initiation, timing, progress and results of
the Company's current and future pre-clinical studies and clinical
trials and the Company's R&D programs; the Company's
expectations regarding the impact of future COVID-19 outbreak on
its business, the Company's industry and the economy; the Company's
estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements
and needs for additional financing; the Company's ability to
successfully acquire or obtain licenses for additional product
candidates on reasonable terms; the Company's ability to establish
and maintain collaborations and/or obtain additional funding and
assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other
risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the SEC. For
these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place
undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press
release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company's filings
with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these
forward–looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that
arise after the date hereof.
Contact :
CytoMed Therapeutics
Limitedenquiry@cytomed.sgAttention :
Evelyn TanChief Corporate Officer, CytoMed
Therapeutics Limited; Chief Executive Officer of IPSC Depository
Sdn Bhd
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