Year in Review 2024: Pushing boundaries in healthcare innovation
This has been a momentous year for CRIS and our programmes.
Join us as we take a look at the key highlights in 2024 in pushing boundaries in healthcare innovation.
STCC became the first Southeast Asian member of Roche’s imCORE network
On 24 July 2024, STCC was inaugurated into the immunotherapy Centers Of Research Excellence (imCORE) Network, along with Roche and Genentech. As a member of this prestigious global network, STCC will collaborate with leading cancer research institutions to accelerate research on immuno-oncology and advance the development of cancer immunotherapy (CIT) treatment for patients. Among the 27 institutions in the network, STCC is the first from Southeast Asia, and the first consortium to join, leading a coalition of Singapore's public healthcare and research institutions in the cancer research and translation ecosystem,
As part of this international expert network, STCC will now be able to participate in global cancer trials, providing Singapore with greater access to cutting-edge research and novel cancer drugs. This partnership not only enhances collaboration, but also holds the potential to pioneer novel immunotherapeutic strategies that can address current unmet medical needs for patients in Singapore.
Read more here.
SCRI launched a one-stop portal dedicated to empowering the public to explore and participate in medical trials in Singapore
On 30 July 2024, SCRI successfully launched ClinicalTrials.SG (CTSG) at the opening of the SCRI Clinical Trials Symposium – The Promise of Clinical Trials: Transforming Tomorrow’s Health.
CTSG is a centralised portal designed for patients, caregivers, clinical investigators and corporations. The portal aims to demystify clinical research by providing clear and comprehensible information, while also promoting research excellence in Singapore by catering to the diverse needs of the research community.
The symposium, a first of its kind for the clinical research community in Singapore, brought together 500 clinicians, researchers, academics, and industry experts from both the public and private sectors, along with patients and clinical trial participants, in a collaborative effort to advance clinical research.
Click here to read the press release.
PRECISE and DxD Hub partnership: a milestone development for precision health in Singapore
On 26 February 2024, PRECISE signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with A*STAR’s DxD Hub - Diagnostics Development Hub, to catalyse translational research and diagnostic development for precision health.
With this partnership, researchers and industry partners can now not only utilise datasets from the NPM programme for research and discovery, but also productise their discoveries by leveraging the expertise of DxD Hub. Beyond translational research, the data output has the potential to be converted into novel diagnostic assays and instrumental platforms.
As these datasets continue to drive the translation of insights from bench to bedside, PRECISE looks forward to facilitating more such partnerships to make a positive impact on diverse communities worldwide, with a particular focus on Asian populations.
Read more here.
STCC launched the National Health Economics Project to transform cancer care in Singapore
STCC launched its National Health Economics on Cancer project in June 2024, a collaborative effort that brings together experts from leading institutions such as the Ministry of Health, National Cancer Centre Singapore, National University Cancer Institute, Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. This initiative aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the cancer landscape in Singapore, focusing on key areas like cancer incidence, stage distribution, and mortality rates, stratified by demographics.
By leveraging data-driven insights, the project aims to identify critical areas within cancer care and prevention that require improvement. The goal is to inform decision-making and support the development of evidence-based policies that will enhance cancer outcomes for patients across Singapore. Beyond analysis, the project seeks to advance cancer care and public health initiatives in the region, contributing to more effective and patient-centred healthcare solutions.
Read more here.
Supporting public healthcare clusters’ flagship innovation engagements
Throughout the year, NHIC has been a key enabler in driving innovation across various flagship events organised by our public healthcare clusters. These include the SingHealth Duke-NUS Annual Scientific Meeting, CHI Innovate, NUHS Scientific & Innovation Summit, Singapore Healthcare Management Congress (SHMC), and Singapore Healthcare Biomedical Congress (SHBC), showcasing cutting-edge technologies from NHIC's innovation, commercialisation, and adoption portfolio.
CADENCE and Medera launch Asia’s first multi-centre gene therapy clinical trial aimed at treating heart failure
On 19 November 2024, CADENCE and Medera announced the initiation of Asia’s first multi-centre gene therapy clinical trial aimed at treating heart failure, with Singapore being the first and only site selected outside of the United States (US).
This trial marks the first collaboration between Singapore's two national heart centres (National Heart Centre Singapore and National University Heart Centre Singapore), and with Tan Tock Seng Hospital. This is a testament to the country’s robust cardiovascular research infrastructure. It also highlights CADENCE’s efforts in increasing clinical trial efficiencies across these institutions by streamlining contracting procedures, simplifying the costs of conducting cardiovascular clinical trials across these sites, as well as providing a centralised point of-contact for companies looking to conduct clinical trials and bring novel therapies to Singapore.
Read more here.