From cancer to diabetes: Singapore biomedical startups expand into China to accelerate development of new treatments

Singapore biomedical startups are expanding into China to use its large patient population, hospital networks and manufacturing capacity to develop treatments more quickly. Lion TCR is testing an immune-cell therapy for hepatitis B-related liver cancer, while BetaLife is preparing stem-cell treatments for diabetes; both are A*STAR spin-offs.

Lion TCR says its Guangzhou facility could halve development time and is running trials with local hospitals, while it explores an off-the-shelf therapy and new uses for its technology. China has an estimated 148 million adults with diabetes, about a quarter of the global total. BetaLife has partnered with a Xiamen hospital and estimates a small first-in-human study could cost 20 to 50 per cent less than in Singapore, though both firms face complex and changing regulations.