Singapore
IN Kurt Wee's eyes, Celligenics is a small company but it is one with big aspirations. The biotechnology company, incorporated in 2016, is charging ahead to bring its stem cell technology to market.
"Regenerative technology is basically looking at taking elements of the body's building blocks, and then looking at how you can process and engineer them and apply them back to the human body for what it needs in its repair and rejuvenation process," said Wee, the company's founder and chief executive officer.
Building on proprietary stem cell technology out-licensed from professors from the National University of Singapore's school of medicine, its team has developed a regenerative extract that is able to stimulate tissue repair.
Not all stem cells are created equal. Stem cells from embryos or adult body tissues - two possible sources - each pose disadvantages, the former being potentially tumour-forming and the latter lacking an infinite lifespan.
In contrast, Celligenics' stem cells take on the best of their properties without the downsides. They have demonstrated neuroprotective and anti-tumour properties and can passage over many cycles, meaning that they have a long lifespan.
Its technology uses a source cell that is "very pure and consistent, potent in its regenerative ability, and has demonstrated very exciting outcomes", Wee said, supported by tests run by the company and the National University of Singapore.
The A*Star spin-off has seen success in its ongoing collaborations.
Preliminary data in its work with tissue repair and regeneration experts from Nanyang Technological University's medical school and the Skin Research Institute of Singapore suggest a one-third acceleration in wound closure upon treating wounds with Celligenics' extract.
It also continues to be tested on a wound-healing platform funded by the A*Star's Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics research programme.
Home to a team of 12 employees, the road has not been easy for the biotech company, especially operating in a field rife with uncertainty.
"There are a lot of times where you are treading a path and you're waiting for an outcome. You hope that you have done something right. And you sometimes have to try different iterations of doing something to try to optimise it," Wee said.
However, it remains uncowed as it pushes on in the regenerative market, which Wee called a "future industry". The company has plans laid out over the next 15 years.
"When you take into account the costs for hospitalisation, doctors, nurses, caregivers, and treatment… you're not just, from a therapeutic perspective, treating the patient and improving his quality of life, health and safety," Wee said. "You're also making an impact on the overall healthcare cost ecosystem."
Winston Lumenta, the head of corporate development, added: "There's a growing globally ageing population resulting in an increased prevalence of patients suffering from chronic diseases. So there's a lot of potential for this, and we're trying to make sure that what we have is both affordable and accessible."
Aside from its uses in chronic wound care, Celligenics' regenerative extract can also be applied for cosmetic purposes, such as for anti-ageing or anti-scarring skincare.
The cosmeceuticals side of the business, developed in partnership with investor Best World International, is expected to launch and generate revenue by 2022.
Celligenics' platform technology's "potential uses are limitless", with one possible future application addressing neuromuscular diseases, Wee said. But in the medium term, it is still focused on product development and clinical trial progress.
Long-discussed plans in China continue to chug along toward the development of wound-healing patches, gels or sprays. Clinical trials of its extract are slated to commence next year, in partnership with one of the country's largest hospitals.
China is a "large and exciting market", and Celligenics plans to address potential entry into the US market as well, Wee added.
However, while Celligenics dreams big, it keeps its feet firmly rooted in the ground, remaining cognisant of what it needs to achieve its goals.
Production and market distribution considerations in the future would require finding a strong joint venture partner in the markets Celligenics plans to approach, Wee said.
"We don't think that we can do everything by ourselves. We may not want to do everything ourselves, actually. Because we want to focus on what we're good at."
Celligenics, which began with 4 employees, turned 5 years old this August. It is, by Wee's accounts, a small Singaporean-built company. Its technology, expertise, development and even seed and Series A funding have been "a very Singaporean effort".
"I think where we've punched through a bit more is really being able to take something and then looking at how to globalise it, as a small company," he said. "We constantly have to punch above our weight in everything that we do. Start small, but grow big."
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