Upcoming Events

The mRNA Applications and Manufacturing Symposium was held on 15 November 2023. This event, co-organised by Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Initiative (NATi), National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), was able to facilitate fruitful knowledge sharing in the exciting nucleic acid therapeutics space.

BTI was at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's booth at the Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia held on 31 October 2023 to 2 November 2023. We are proud to be part of Singapore's 30-by-30 vision by contributing to building R&D capabilities in the cultivated meat field. The CRISP Meats programme, hosted by BTI in collaboration with SIT and NUS, is enabling more efficient production of cultivated meat and seafood, supporting a vibrant R&D ecosystem in Singapore.

We recently had a productive conversation and information-sharing session with the Rotating CEO of GenScript, Sherry Shao, regarding BTI's expertise in cell line development and analytical sciences. We are excited about exploring opportunities to collaborate and support each other in these areas.

We are excited to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and SCG Cell Therapy, setting the stage for a remarkable collaboration in cell and gene therapy (CGT). A*STAR has deep capabilities in bioprocessing technologies, manufacturing, biomarker discovery and target validation, while SCG is a leading biotechnology company with expertise in clinical development of novel immunotherapies.

Together, this meaningful partnership aims to:

• Advance CGT manufacturing process development and analytics.
• Accelerate the development and delivery of novel immunotherapies into clinics.

We look forward to working with SCG to develop cell and gene therapies to contribute towards better healthcare outcomes.

Corning Incorporated and Bioprocessing Technology Institute have launched a joint laboratory to explore cultivated meat development. Both Corning and BTI will contribute their respective expertise to advance research in this emerging field. Corning will provide access to both new and existing cell culture technologies along with the technical expertise to support scalable, validated biomanufacturing processes. BTI will contribute its deep expertise and proprietary knowledge in cell culture and media development.

This collaboration will further the development of industry-relevant technologies and products, starting with cultivated meats. It will help position Singapore as a key global hub for research and development in the biomanufacturing and biotechnology sectors.

A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research and RVAC Medicines will be collaborating to build capabilities to manufacture mRNA vaccines in Singapore. RVAC Medicines will be setting up a joint laboratory in A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) to develop a preclinical manufacturing platform to generate novel raw materials and potentially clinical-grade assets. This collaboration seeks to enable local ecosystem innovators and global manufacturers to access the manufacturing platform and aid in preclinical asset development.

The first face-to-face get together for the CRISPMeats team was for a workshop held at NUS Department of Food Science and Technology (FST). The team gained valuable insights from NUS FST sharing on downstream processing and waste valorisation for alternative proteins. It was an afternoon well-spent on fruitful discussions with team members from National University of Singapore and Singapore Institute of Technology on R&D challenges that the cultivated meat ecosystem is facing.

CRISP Meats is a multi-agency programme hosted by BTI and partnered with IHLs to advance #CultivatedMeat research. Collaborative efforts such as CRISP Meats are supported by the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme to build food security capabilities and bring Singapore one step closer to its 30by30 goal.

Many thanks to Professor Weibiao Zhou, Head of Department of NUS FST, for the opportunity to visit and for hosting us.

BTI was happy to host the Chairman and the leadership team from BioNTech on 14 November 2022. We had the opportunity to showcase BTI’s capabilities in the biomanufacturing industry. This reaffirms Singapore’s position as a regional R&D hub, with world class facilities, and a diverse and capable talent pool.

BTI is happy to announce our collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific. This partnership aims to foster innovation and advance biomanufacturing capabilities by bringing together state-of-the-art facilities at Thermo Fisher’s Bioprocessing Design Centre and BTI’s expertise in bioprocessing. This collaboration reaffirms Singapore’s position as a regional R&D hub, with world class facilities and a diverse and capable talent pool.

BTI held its inaugural Alumni Networking Tea on 26 August 2022. This marked the first external in-person event since the pandemic and presented a welcome opportunity to catch up with colleagues, both current and past. Attendees bonded over BTI's rich 32-year history, celebrating scientific achievements over the years and the successes of the people who have come and gone through BTI.

BTI and WuXi Advanced Therapies (ATU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 27 April 2022. This partnership aims to foster scientific innovation in cell and gene therapy in the Asia-Pacific region with WuXi ATU’s proprietary Tetracycline-Enabled Self-Silencing Adenovirus (TESSA™) technology. This will help position Singapore as an innovative biotherapeutics bioprocessing R&D hub, contributing to better health outcomes for Singapore and beyond.