SINGAPORE, Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoMed Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: GDTC) ("CytoMed" or the "Company") today released a letter to shareholders from the Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") as it welcomes the new year ahead of its full-year audited results announcement due by end-April, the full text of which is provided below. All shareholders of CytoMed are encouraged to read.
Dear Shareholders,
The Board of CytoMed wishes you a healthy and prosperous Year of the Snake.
The snake's ability to shed its skin is often compared to rebirth and renewal, representing adaptability and growth in Chinese mythology. The snake's calm and quiet nature also embodies deep thought and strategic planning to embrace change and explore new possibilities. Its connection to transformation makes the Snake Year a relevant time for pursuing ambitious goals and doing things differently from others in the same bio-eco system.
But first a quick recap.
Based in Singapore and Malaysia, we are not in cancer targets discovery, a disease diagnostic company, a research biotech nor medical device company or a CDMO or CRO. Capitalizing on Asia's low-cost infrastructure and talents, we make affordable GMP-grade immune cells to be infused into no-option patients to alleviate their cancers or autoimmune diseases. This operation continued to grow in 2024 especially with rising interest from doctors and researchers in donor-derived off-the-shelf allogeneic gamma delta T cells, a rare subset of cancer-killing T cells. We are proud of our accomplishments in 2024 driven by our dedicated employees and management team along with the effectiveness of our strategy. We achieved decent growth in our topline (based on the unaudited financials), product development, strategic partnership and internationalization. Details will be announced when available.
Here is a quick recap of our accomplishments in 2024 and an outline of our direction for 2025:
Clinical stage biopharma
Late last year, CytoMed became a clinical stage biopharma with the first patient safely dosed in November 2024 under a clinical trial approved in Singapore. Termed ANGELICA trial, this is a first-in-human CAR T trial in the world involving CytoMed's patented donor-derived allogeneic gamma delta T cells which express a chimeric antigen receptor ("CAR") which can recognize many types of cancers, both hematological and solid cancers. As a phase 1 trial, the number of patients to be recruited is typically small, not more than 20 late stage cancers. The National Medical Research Council of Singapore has awarded a significant grant to implement this trial in Singapore.
Successful acquisition of a licenced cord blood bank
This cord blood bank will provide rare and precious cord blood as cost-free raw materials for our strategic expansion into a new class of cord blood-derived therapeutics for auto-immunes and cancers due to its naïve cord properties. We purchased this bank for approximately US$ 450,000 and intend to spinoff this subsidiary in future as a separate cord blood-based biopharma for example manufacturing cord blood-derived Natural Killer cells, widely researched for its safe and potentially effective remedy for autoimmune diseases. There are few providers of cord blood-derived therapeutics due to the unavailability of low cost cord blood units.
International strategic partnership
We initiated strategic collaboration to bring our technology to China and India, two nearby large Asian economies with abundant cancer cases. We can also tap on these low cost regional countries to make affordable therapies. China scientists reportedly now publish the most research papers in the world. India is well-known to make very affordable medicines.
One step closer to the clinic for our novel hybrid immune cell made from induced pluripotent stem cells ("iPSC")
CytoMed has generated the critical cell banks for the iPSC-derived hybrid of gamma delta T and Natural Killer cell technology and is currently undergoing process development into a potentially very potent cancer-killing immunotherapy product to treat a range of cancers.
Artificial Intelligence ("AI") project
We are participating in a proposed international project involving the use of AI and our gamma delta T cells in the treatment of infectious diseases in developing countries.
Tapping on fast growing medical tourism in Asia
Looking ahead to 2025, an important milestone is our initial clinical readout of our ANGELICA trial anticipated by mid of this year. We are also working on submitting a US FDA IND for our donor-derived allogeneic gamma delta T cells. We continue to seek out like-minded partners especially to deploy our allogeneic gamma delta T cells in combinational therapies such as with antibodies. To enhance our profile in the US, we are establishing a presence in New York so we can be in the same time zone, be closer to our US investors and look out for opportunities including M&A, strategic alliances and learn of new technologies. As Chairman and substantial shareholder of CytoMed, to show commitment and resolve to our shareholders, the US presence will be motivated and funded in my private capacity using personal donated shares and will not risk the Company's resources.
In summary, be like the snake and transform, renew. International medical tourism in Asia is fast growing so there are lots of opportunities to develop this new science of cell therapy which is very expensive in the West or inaccessible despite passing of the Right-to-Try bill in the US due to fear of litigation in the US. In 2025, we intend to implement radical revenue-generating methods to address no-option late stage diseased patients on a compassionate, or named patient basis (alternatively known as special access or accelerated access programme depending on which regulator) including investing in clinics and partnering hospitals and medical cancer centres in the region. Although our IPO on NASDAQ in 2023 was very modest raising only US$ 10 million gross (net US$ 8 million after expenses), due to our cost-efficient operations in Asia and exercising financial prudence, we have sufficient cash runway of more than a year. We should prepare to strengthen our financials at the right time in 2025 and plan well ahead for funds to pounce on new opportunities including M&A. The team is very busy with many projects.
DeepSeek is AI's disruptor for its low R&D investment cost and accessibility. Low cost allogeneic off-the-shelf cell therapies for various types of cancers, both hematological and solid cancers, may be biotech's DeepSeek moment.
Happy new year of the Snake!
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. CytoMed 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 Limited
enquiry@cytomed.sg
Attention: Evelyn Tan, Chief Corporate Officer
