INTERVIEW
How PairX Bio transforms cancer immunotherapies
The startup focuses on cancer treatment by targeting shared tumour-associated antigens.
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n 2017, two oncology researchers, Dr. David M. Epstein and Dr. Raymond Lee, accidentally discovered that RNA splicing or cutting patterns can be observed across shared groups of cancer patients, not just on gastric cancer patients, which they had previously focused on. This scientific breakthrough, they believed, could be developed into a new approach to cancer immunotherapies that are designed to help larger numbers of patients. Cancer treatment using immune checkpoint inhibitors like Ipilimumab and CAR-T therapies like Kymriah has greatly improved cancer patient survival and recovery. Currently, the benefits of this kind of treatment are most prominent in small groups of patients. Healthcare Asia had a chat with Dr. Lee, now the scientific co-founder of PairX Bio. Founded in September 2020, PairX Bio is a startup that raised several seed financing rounds to help in its mission of developing immunotherapies against cancers, especially tumours, which currently have limited targeted therapy options. In your opinion, how much do you think cancer immunotherapy has changed the landscape of oncology globally, in the Asia Pacific, and Singapore? The global medical community, including those in Singapore, embraces this exciting treatment modality as more immunotherapies such as CAR-T cells, checkpoint inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies continue to be effective on patients. At PairX Bio, we are developing next-generation cancer immunotherapies that target shared tumour-associated antigens derived from aberrantly spliced proteins. The PairX Bio platform is built upon a deep understanding of mRNA splicing biology, which, when combined with our proprietary antigen and T cell validation methods, yields simultaneous validation of tumour antigen T cell pairs in multiple patient-derived tumours. Growth in cancer immunotherapy is predicted to increase exponentially in the coming years. However, most of the targets currently in clinical trials are targets that have been discovered in the past decade. Using our PairX Bio platform, we aim to accelerate the discovery of these targets that can be exploited. By identifying targets that are present in subsets of cancer patients, we aim to develop treatments that can be rigorously tested. Overall, PairX Bio leverages the understanding of the immune system and capabilities to identify unique cancer antigens and paired T cells to establish the arsenal required to push the capabilities of immunotherapy, especially for hard-to-treat solid tumours. 26
HEALTHCARE ASIA
PairX Bio is developing next-gen cancer immunotherapies, built upon a deep understanding of mRNA splicing biology (Photo: Dr. Raymond Lee, Co-founder, PairX Bio)
David M. Epstein
The global medical community embraces this exciting treatment
There are several biotech companies based in Singapore. What do you think makes the country an attractive and suitable suitable place for biotechnology? The Singapore government has invested extensively in biotech for over 20 years and is now reaping the rewards. The country now boasts a solid biomedical infrastructure, stringent intellectual property rights regime, trusted global reputation, connectivity to neighbouring countries, and encapsulated knowledge of the overall biotech industry. Thanks to initiatives that encourage biotech talent development, such as the 2020 Research Innovation Enterprise Plan, more researchers are developing an appetite for branching out to the biotech sector, creating a large pool of talented researchers and developers passionate about biotech. Additionally, besides significant financial backing from the government, we also have the support of local private investors such as EVX Ventures. These factors make Singapore a “city of dreams” for those embarking on innovation and enterprise. PairX is currently based at NSG Biolabs, which is considered a co-working space for biotech startups. What are the advantages of this? NSG BioLabs offers the perfect ready-to-use lab space that allows us to immediately focus on research and product
