Esco Aster and SMART MIT recently teamed up to host Singapore’s first-ever Adoptive Cell Therapy Symposium, marking an important milestone for the region.
This groundbreaking event brought together cell therapy manufacturing researchers, clinician-scientists, biotech innovators, investors, and CDMOs,
all eager to explore how Singapore can lead with a knowledge-driven, cost-effective approach to advancing cell therapy.
Opening Remarks
Lee Yie Hou (Scientific Director, SMART CAMP) and Xiangliang Lin (Founder & CEO, Esco Aster) set the stage with their opening remarks,
emphasizing Singapore’s role as a regional hub for advanced therapies and the importance of bridging academic research with industrial translation for impact creation.
Keynote Highlights
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Opening Keynote – Dr. Kuan Chee Mun (AIM Biotech)
Dr. Kuan shared his inspiring journey as a SMART MIT spinoff founder. His key message: innovators must stay focused on unmet needs
and solve real problem statements, not just pursue technology. Working closely with partners while adopting a multi-revenue model selectively is vital to survival.
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Liver Cancer Advances – Dr. Anthony Tan (Duke-NUS)
Dr. Tan highlighted challenges in liver cancer treatment and the promise of cell therapies. He presented mRNA-based TCR T-cell engineering
for HBV-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HBV-HCC). Unlike permanent genetic modification, mRNA engineering enables transient TCR expression.
Remarkably, tumor lysis was observed 2–3 months post-infusion, suggesting durable immune remodeling and potential synergy with checkpoint inhibitors.
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Gamma Delta T Cell (GDT) Platform – Dr. Yunxin & Dr. Alice (SGH)
The potential of GDT cells was presented as a novel adoptive therapy. Being MHC unrestricted and not alloreactive, GDT offers a unique opportunity
to develop off-the-shelf CAR-T products. Their versatility and cost efficiency overcome many limitations of conventional T-cell therapies.
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SMART CAMP Presentations
Researchers showcased translational strategies accelerating lab-to-clinic adoption:
- Dr. Kerwin Kwek – Biophysical Signatures on a Chip: Rapid CAR T Cell Quality Profiling via Microfluidics
- Dr. Zhao Haoran – Microcarrier to Enhance T Cell Immunotherapy
- Dr. Yang Yanmeng – Cellular Iron Flux Measurement by Micro-magnetic Resonance Relaxometry
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Closing Keynote – XL Lin (Founder & CEO, Esco Aster)
XL Lin emphasized aligning unmet needs with scalable manufacturing, leveraging cGMP CDMO to address high costs and complexity.
He highlighted scalable, quality-by-design approaches and novel biotools such as fusion protein platforms for ex vivo, non-expanded therapies.
These innovations can reduce costs and expand access to future therapies.
A heartfelt thank you to all speakers and participants, both in-person and online, for making this inaugural symposium a success.
Looking ahead, Esco Aster will continue this momentum at Cell & Gene Therapy World Asia 2025 next week.
We invite all cell therapy innovators to join us in shaping the future of advanced therapies together.
Learn more at:
Cell & Gene Therapy World Asia 2025
About Esco Aster
Esco Aster is a contract research development and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) founded by scientists to enable translation
of bench work into diagnostics, medicines, therapies, cosmeceuticals, and cellular agriculture at affordable prices.
Through best-in-class continuous manufacturing platforms, Esco Aster delivers scalable, reliable outcomes.
Learn more at www.escoaster.com
and connect on LinkedIn.
About SMART CAMP
SMART CAMP (Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine) is an interdisciplinary research group under the
Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. It develops innovative tools and analytics to accelerate safe, scalable,
and cost-effective manufacturing of cell and gene therapies, strengthening Singapore’s position as a hub for advanced therapeutics.
Learn more at smart.mit.edu.