Date: 09-June-2004 Source: Agency for Science, Technology and Research

SAN FRANCISCO (9 June) - Companies continue to take advantage of the integrated development strategy that has strengthened Singapore's intellectual, industrial and human capital, making Singapore one of the biomedical frontrunners in Asia. Singapore provides a conducive environment for biomedical companies to achieve their business objectives. Several Singapore-based start-ups are already achieving scientific breakthroughs and advances in business development and commercialisation. Scientific Breakthrough Agenica Research Pte Ltd, announced recently that its scientists, together with researchers from the Singapore National Cancer Centre, Department of Pathology at Singapore General Hospital and the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, have authored an article which appeared in the May edition of Cancer Research, the most highly cited cancer journal internationally. The article, titled "A Molecular Signature of the Nottingham Prognostic Index in Breast Cancer", describes the identification of a 62-gene expression signature (NPI-ES) that will aid in predicting prognosis (chance of recovery) in breast cancer patients. Agenica's NPI-ES is comparable and is complimentary to conventional breast cancer prognosis staging systems such as the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) system and can potentially provide critical information in disease behaviour and patient prognosis, allowing better definition of treatment protocols for patients. Agenica will conduct further clinical studies in various parts of Asia to validate the clinical utility of the NPI-ES, with the ultimate aim of applying the NPI-ES in commercial breast cancer diagnostics. Commercialisation The CyGenics group of companies has announced that it intends to list on the Australian Stock Exchange. The group consists of: CordLife, the first private cord blood bank to be set up in Singapore and one of the first in Asia, providing tissue banking services for cord blood, peripheral blood, and in the near future, for stem cells derived from adipose tissue; Cell Sciences, which provides a unique line of disposable cell growth systems for use in cellular research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies; and Cytomatrix, which undertakes research, development and commercialization of a powerful class of cell-based applications, such as stem cell-based therapeutics and cell based assaying. CordLife and Cell Sciences are based in Singapore, and Cytomatrix in Boston, Mass. Following a successful close of the offer in late May, the stock is expected to begin trading in mid-June. Its portfolio of investors includes Singaporean and Australian institutions. Clinical Research Services In addition to Singapore serving as home base and a regional coordination centre for multi-centre trials across Asia, Phoenix Pharma is moving into pharmacokinetics, bio-analytical and pharmacogenomic services, building on its extensive experience in central laboratory testing services for clinical trials in phases I through IV. In the area of bio-analytical services to be provided by Phoenix, it will involve method transfer, development, optimization of method using a state of the art technique such as LC-MS-MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry- mass spectrophotometry). Research projects Bioinformatics Institute (BII) has made advancements in the field of brain atlas and modeling technology for research and commercial purposes. BII's Brain Modeling technology has potential applications in neurosurgery, neuroradiology, human brain mapping, neuroeducation and image guided surgery. The group has developed ten global products based on Brain Atlas. BII seeks to address challenging problems in biomedical computing, especially in making sense of the deluge of biomedical data generated by high throughput experiments and networked clinical instruments. BII researchers work at different layers of biological informational complexity, from molecular modelling to inter-cellular networks. About Agenica Research Pte Ltd Agenica Research Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based, biotechnology research company, focused on the study of genetic/proteomics expression profiles of Asian cancers. Applying state-of-the-art data-mining technologies to gene/protein expression profile and clinical information databases, the company aims to discover biomarkers, which can be applied in cancer diagnostics, monitoring and therapeutics. Agenica was established in March 2001 with joint investment from the National Cancer Centre of Singapore and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Shimadzu Corporation is an investor of Agenica. About Phoenix Pharma Phoenix Pharma is a College of American Pathologists accredited laboratory with distinction, and the first Singapore-owned central laboratory and support solutions for global multi-centre trials of new drugs in Asian countries. The company works closely with large central laboratories located in the USA and Europe to capture and harmonise data in global multi-centre trials. Phoenix Pharma has operated in Singapore since October 2002, and this home base serves as a regional coordination centre for multi-centre trials across Asia. For more information, please visit www.phoenixpcs.com About Bioinformatics Institute (BII) One of the five national research institutes under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) uses a combination of computational and mathematical techniques to understand the dynamic nature of genome in human and model organisms, resulting in applications from basic to clinical. For more information, please visit www.bii.a-star.edu.sg About CyGenics CyGenics is a stem cell biotechnology company. Its subsidiary CordLife offers umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood stem cells processing and storage services. Cell Sciences provides a range of innovative, consumable cellular products to research institutions and pharmaceutical companies. Cytomatrix develops cell-based applications based on its patented three-dimensional growth scaffold. For more information, please visit www.cygenics.com.