Engineering mini “bombers” and “cleaners” – How this startup is changing the game to treat aggressive cancers

Imagine a team of experts, part “bombers” and part “cleaners,” meticulously working to dismantle cancer from within. That’s exactly what Dr Sarah Ho and her team at AGeM Bio are engineering—non-virally modified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), that can be engineered to deliver cancer-destroying agents directly into the tumour while also “cleaning up” the damage. 

“We’re creating a bio factory inside the cancer itself,” explains Dr Ho. “Our engineered stem cells deliver targeted ‘bombs’ that disrupt the tumour’s ability to replicate, and then the immune system steps in to finish the job.” 

Co-founders of AGeM Bio Dr Sarah Ho and Jun Yong Woo standing by an image of the non-virally modified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).  

At the heart of this innovation is a technique developed by her mentor, Associate Professor Too Heng-Phon at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), who pioneered the non-viral method that AGeM Bio now uses.

Unlike methods that employ viral techniques—often triggering immune responses—AGeM Bio’s approach uses shape-shifting polymers to deliver genetic material to the MSCs without alarming the immune system. Both A/Prof Too and Dr Ho are from the NUS Centre for Cancer Research and Department of Biochemistry at NUS Medicine. 

“Cells naturally want to eat,” Dr Ho explains. “We use shapeless polymers to trick the cells into absorbing the genetic material without recognising it as a threat.” This not only increases the amount of treatment that can be delivered, but also ensures that the cells can enter the body without being attacked by the immune system.