Singapore based startup CytoMed Therapeutics, spun off from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), has entered into a research collaboration agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, US to use gamma-delta T cells (gdTc) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and breast cancer.

AML is the most common type of acute leukaemia in adults and is likely to worsen quickly if untreated. However, there are not many treatment options available for AML. Similarly, the incidence rate of breast cancer globally is high, and patients may quickly run out of treatment options, especially if they suffer from triple-negative breast cancer.

This collaboration aims to develop new treatment modalities for unmet needs of AML and breast cancer patients at an affordable cost.

Under the terms of the two-year agreement, research teams will evaluate the application of CytoMed's allogeneic gdTc on various subtypes of AML and breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. The study is expected to use patient-derived AML cells and breast cancer cell lines for investigation. The results of the study are intended to be part of an Investigational New Drug Application with the US Food and Drug Administration for the allogeneic use of gdTc for blood and solid cancers.

CytoMed received approval in January 2023 from Singapore's Health Science Authority to conduct a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial for the use of its lead allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) product candidate (CTM-N2D) against several blood and solid tumour cancers.