Category: Science Events

On 11 September 2023, we warmly welcomed students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to our premises for a lab visit. The visit formed part of our annual university-industry collaboration initiative, to foster greater ties with academia and to serve as a catalyst for innovation and talent development. 

The students had the opportunity to observe how cutting-edge antibody research is conducted in our lab. Through this in-person  experience, they acquired a deeper understanding of the experimental processes and scientific methodologies used in research.

During the visit, we also held a presentation to introduce our antibody research and provided opportunities for the students to interact with us and ask questions. The students were able to learn about different career paths in science, gain insights into day-to-day research work and learn about the challenges and rewards of scientific inquiry.

We hope that this exposure has broadened the students’ perspectives, fostered a greater appreciation for the transformative impact of research and innovation, and inspired them to pursue a career in science.

At CPR, we regularly work together with institutions of higher education to provide opportunities for students to gain industry exposure as part of beyond classroom learning.   

On 13 March 2023, a group of 16 students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) visited CPR for such a purpose. The group comprised undergraduate students enrolled in the Molecular Biotechnology Module, as well as post-graduate students enrolled in the Masters in Biotechnology degree programme.  

The visit was organised to provide the students with insights into the “bench-to-bedside” process. This refers to the journey of taking a new drug from early research in the lab to its development and testing before being made available to patients.  

Through presentations, we introduced CPR and our work on antibody research to the students. This enabled them to understand our core technology and niche in the market. In a presentation on the drug development process, we also provided them with greater insights on how scientific discoveries are translated from laboratory to product. The visit culminated in a lab tour where they had the opportunity to observe our researchers at work in our state-of-art facility.  

We hope that through this visit, the students will have a better sense of how the industry works and be more aware of the types of roles that will be available to them after graduation.  

Through initiatives such as these, we aim to contribute to Singapore’s science ecosystem by encouraging the next generation of aspiring scientists to pursue a career in this field.  

On 19 October 2022, CPR conducted a virtual presentation to students pursuing a Master of Science in Biotechnology (Coursework) degree from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences.

The talk was organised as part of industry sharing to provide students with the opportunity to build industry connections and gain real-world insights into the field of biotechnology.

In his presentation, CPR CEO Hideaki Shimada shared more about how CPR is leveraging its proprietary technologies to discover promising drug candidates in a shorter amount of time. Explaining the process of drug discovery, he highlighted how monoclonal antibody drugs have the potential to address numerous diseases.

He also pointed out how Singapore’s science ecosystem has been instrumental in helping CPR to drive R&D to create novel therapeutic antibodies. The vibrant R&D scene in Singapore has led to public-private collaboration possibilities and has also attracted promising R&D talent from all over the world.

Overall, the industry exposure from the talk provided participants with fresh perspectives on how their post-graduate degree could lead to various career pathways in the field of biomedical sciences.

On 12 October 2022, we welcomed over 20 students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) to CPR for a lab visit. This visit was part of our annual university-industry collaboration, an initiative which we have embarked on since 2018.  

After organising recruitment webinars for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were glad that we could resume hosting the students in person as Singapore moved into the endemic phase.  

During the visit, NUS students had the opportunity to observe how we conducted our antibody research at our state-of-the-art research facilities. They met some of our employees who shared insights into their work and the importance of innovation and collaboration in this field of work.  

After conducting a presentation where we introduced our work, the students had the chance to ask questions about career pathways in science. The visit provided a platform for us to increase awareness about the innovation process in drug discovery. By sharing our work, we hope we have inspired them to pursue a career in science after they graduate. We look forward to forging closer relationships with tertiary institutions to support the career development of the next generation of aspiring scientists.  

 

The 8^th Antibody Symposium was held on 22 November 2021 in the form of a Zoom Webinar. Jointly organised by CPR, the National University of Singapore and A*STAR, this annual event brought together industry, academia and government to present the latest advances in antibody research and treatment.  

Over 320 attendees comprising the research community, industry professionals and tertiary students participated in the full-day seminar.  

Scientists from various institutions including CPR, A*STAR, ETH Zurich, The Pennnsylvania State University, Uppsala University and the  Scripps Research (Florida Campus) shared their latest findings and discoveries on antibody treatments for infectious diseases.  

The two speakers representing CPR were Dr Feng Shu and Dr Yoshinori Narita.  

Dr Feng Shu leads the Lead Optimisation Unit and Automation & Data Management Unit at CPR. Her presentation “A Novel Next Generation T cell Bispecific Antibody Platform” outlined the findings of the protein engineering and pre-clinical results from her research. Dr Feng and her team had developed a novel T-cell bispecific platform that had superior anti-tumour efficacy to conventional CD3 T-cell redirect antibody with T-cell activation status and tumor microenvironment.  

Dr Yoshinori Narita is a Senior Principal Scientist at the Oncology Pharmacology Unit at CPR. His presentation was titled “A Novel Tumor Selective Anti-CD137 Agonist Antibody Activated by Elevated Extracellular ATP In Tumor Microenvironment”. He shared his findings reported in Cancer Discov. 2021 on the STA551, a novel anti-CD137 agonist antibody that exerts agonistic activity selectively in tumors without on-target toxicity in non-tumor tissues, regardless of tumor-associated antigen expression. STA551 is currently being tested in a phase 1 clinical study.  

On 20 October 2021, CPR presented a virtual talk to students pursuing a Master of Science in Biotechnology (Coursework) degree from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Science. Participants comprised local and international adult learners who are keen to deepen their skills and knowledge about the biotechnology industry. 

Titled “Unlocking breakthroughs in drug discovery to address global unmet medical needs”, CPR’s presentation was part of a case studies module aimed at providing real-world insights on the technical and entrepreneurial aspects of the biotechnology industry. 

The lecture was presented by CPR CEO, Hideaki Shimada and focused on how CPR’s antibody engineering technologies and drug discovery expertise have played an instrumental role in driving the discovery of innovative antibody drugs. During his presentation, he also shared how monoclonal antibody drugs have become an important therapeutic option, with multiple antibody drugs now ranked amongst the world’s top-10 selling drugs. 

The lecture ended with a Q&A session where participants had the opportunity to ask more questions about CPR and the biotech scene. Overall, participants found the presentation interesting and appreciated the fresh perspectives of how advancing R&D in this field can help to fight diseases. 

On 15 October 2021, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) held a webinar titled “Discover the true landscape of Singapore’s biopharmaceutical industry”. The webinar explored Singapore’s efforts to position itself as a leading global biopharmaceutical hub and discussed future trends and prospects in the industry. The webinar also highlighted how public-private partnerships and the ability to attract talent were instrumental in fostering productivity and innovation within the industry.

CPR CEO Hideaki Shimada was one of the invited guest speakers who shared his perspectives on how CPR has grown and benefitted from Singapore’s R&D ecosystem. During his presentation, Dr Shimada focused on how CPR has drawn on Singapore’s strong infrastructure for biomedical research and supportive policies to establish collaborations with Singapore’s science community, nurture innovation and strengthen its drug discovery platforms.

Jointly organised by CPR and p53Lab of A*STAR, the 7^th Antibody Symposium was held on 23 November 2020. Unlike previous runs of the Symposium, the 7^th edition went digital due to COVID-19.

Presenters for the full-day Zoom webinar included scientists from CPR, DSO, SIgN, SRIS, p53Lab and a keynote speaker from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. They shared their latest antibody treatment research findings and industry updates to the scientific community.

The two speakers from CPR were Dr Futa Mimoto who presented his findings on using novel antibody engineering to treat solid tumors and Dr Tomoyuki Igawa who spoke on utilising antibody engineering to treat the Hemophilia A disease.