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MediSix Therapeutics IASO Biotechnology An IASO Biotechnology subsidiary

Engineering immune cells for difficult-to-treat diseases.

MediSix Therapeutics is a Singapore-based immune cell engineering and cell therapy company developing innovative T-cell therapies with its proprietary PEBL technology platform.

Explore our science Read our publications
PEBL-CAR T cells targeting a tumor cell while avoiding fratricide

PEBL keeps selected target proteins inside the cell, preventing their expression on the cell surface.

Our mission

Changing what T-cell therapies can reach.

We believe that T-cell therapies will radically change the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. At MediSix, our mission is to develop effective T-cell therapies by leveraging an array of proprietary technologies that improve and expand T-cell function.

Capabilities

From scientific discovery to clinical translation.

Our in-house expertise reaches from bench to bedside.

Scientific innovation

Development of novel immune cell technologies.

Cell, protein and antibody engineering

Application of novel technologies to overcome challenges in cancer and autoimmune disease treatment.

Translational medicine

Cross-disciplinary expertise that brings scientific innovation to the clinic and enriches research with real-world insight.

Clinical expertise

Robust, well-characterized and novel solutions for treating complex diseases.

Our science

PEBL design and development.

Our Protein Expression Blocker, or PEBL, is designed to address key challenges in cell therapy. The concept is simple: PEBL traps specific proteins deep inside the cell, preventing their expression on the cell surface.

01 · Binding The PEBL binding domain is engineered from the antigen-binding region of an antibody
02 · Retention A localization domain retains the protein in the endoplasmic reticulum to form a PEBL
03 · Blockade PEBL traps the target protein so it cannot be expressed on the cell surface

PEBL-CAR

Avoiding fratricide without gene editing.

CAR T cells have been used to treat B-cell lymphomas with great success. In T-cell malignancies, CAR T cells can kill each other because they share the target antigen—a challenge known as fratricide.

When coupled with a CAR, PEBL keeps the shared target protein inside the cell. This allows PEBL-CAR T cells to target malignant T cells while avoiding fratricide and preserving a manufacturing process based on a single transduction step.

Typical CAR T-cell principle
CAR T-cell fratricide caused by shared target antigen
PEBL-CAR T cells kill tumor cells while avoiding fratricide

Applications

A platform with room to expand.

Our PEBL-CAR platform supports research across multiple diseases and treatment modalities.

CAR T-cell therapy

Using PEBL-CAR cells to address challenging T-cell malignancies is at the heart of our work.

Next-generation CAR T

Our teams continuously work to improve and extend the effectiveness of the platform.

Expansion outside oncology

Checkpoint proteins and other targets may open routes to applications in additional diseases.

Scientific publications

Evidence behind the platform.

Nature Medicine · 3 Sep 2024

Fratricide-resistant CD7-CAR T cells in T-ALL

Oh, B. L. Z., Shimasaki, N., Coustan-Smith, E. et al.

 ↗ 64th ASH · 12 Dec 2022

Development of an Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Cell Therapy for T-ALL without Gene Editing

Wong, X. F. A., Ng, J., Zheng, S., Ismail, R., Qian, H., Campana, D., and Tan, Y. X.

 ↗ 64th ASH · 10 Dec 2022

Development of Anti-CD3 CAR-T Cells for Allogeneic Cell Therapy of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

Qian, H., Gay, F. P. H., Pang, J. W. L., Lee, Y., Ang, J., Tan, H. C., Lek, E. S. H., Campana, D., and Tan, Y. X.

 ↗ J Clin Invest · 12 Mar 2019

Blocking expression of inhibitory receptor NKG2A overcomes tumor resistance to NK cells

Kamiya, T., Seow, S. V., Wong, D., Robinson, M., and Campana, D.

 ↗ Blood Advances · 5 Mar 2018

A novel method to generate T-cell receptor–deficient chimeric antigen receptor T cells

Kamiya, T., Wong, D., Png, Y. T., and Campana, D.

 ↗ Blood Advances · 21 Nov 2017

Blockade of CD7 expression in T cells for effective chimeric antigen receptor targeting of T-cell malignancies

Png, Y. T., Vinanica, N., Kamiya, T., Shimasaki, N., Coustan-Smith, E., and Campana, D.

 ↗

Our story

Built from pioneering CAR-T research.

Renowned expert in cell therapy and creator of the first anti-CD19-41BB-CD3ζ CAR, Professor Dario Campana founded MediSix Therapeutics in 2016 while exploring novel treatment approaches for patients with intractable T-cell malignancies.

Dario and the team developed, characterized and validated the groundbreaking PEBL technology, creating a new and much-needed option for these patients.

Professor Dario Campana, scientific founder of MediSix Therapeutics

News

MediSix joins IASO Biotechnology.

IASO Biotechnology acquisition of MediSix Therapeutics announcement 13 Aug 2026 · Press release

IASO Biotechnology announces acquisition of Singapore-based cell therapy company MediSix Therapeutics
2020 · President's Technology Award

Professor Dario Campana recognized for pioneering work in CAR-T technology

2022 · Collaboration

Twist Bioscience signs antibody discovery collaboration with MediSix Therapeutics

 2021 · Patient story

British boy remains cancer-free one year after life-saving treatment in Singapore

 2020 · Profile

Translating medical science from bench to bedside

 2019 · Award

NUS Medicine researcher wins Gabbay Award for CAR-T immunotherapy

Contact

MediSix Therapeutics, Singapore.

For corporate enquiries, contact IASO Biotechnology.

Singapore office

79 Science Park Drive, #04-05
Cintech IV, Singapore Science Park 1
Singapore 118264
pr@iasobio.com

Public relations and corporate enquiries

Yunqin Lee, PhD

Director of Discovery Sciences

Dr Lee is our Director of Discovery Sciences, where she evaluates and manages the transition of technologies or assets of interest into MediSix. She joined MediSix in 2018 and has more than 13 years of experience in immunology research.

 

Prior to joining Medisix, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Singapore Immunology Network, where she studied the immunoprofile of solid tumors and the phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages. Yunqin holds a BEng in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London and her PhD in Immunology from Stanford University, where she studied immune evasion in cancer.

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Alicia Chua, BEng (Mech)

Assoc. Director of Development

Alicia joined MediSix as our Assoc. Director of Development, spearheading our Development team’s efforts to transition Discovery assets into clinical trials. She earned her B.Eng from Nanyang Technological University and worked as a Product Engineer for four years before making a daring career switch to Cell Therapy. She has since been a key contributor to developing manufacturing processes for Cell Therapy Products.

 

Before joining MediSix, Alicia was the Product Development Manager at Lion TCR. She specialised in crafting the production process for their TCR-T product had her work published in Hepatology and was integral to securing Phase 1B/2 FDA approval for their TCR-T product.

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George Poste, BSc, PhD, DVM

Board Member

Professor Poste has served on our Board of Directors since 2016. He is the Del E Webb Professor of Health Innovation and chief scientist with the Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative at Arizona State University (ASU). This program integrates research in genomics, synthetic biology and high performance computing to study the altered regulation of molecular networks in human diseases to develop new diagnostic tests for precision medicine and the remote monitoring of health status using miniaturized body sensors and mobile devices. He assumed this post in 2009. From 2003 to 2009, he directed and built the Biodesign Institute at ASU.

 

He is a fellow of the UK Royal Society, the Royal College of Pathologists and the UK Academy of Medicine, a member of the Council for Foreign Relations, and US National Academy of Medicine Board on Global Health. He has served as a member of the Defense Science Board of the US Department of Defense and currently serves on advisory committees for several US government agencies in defense, intelligence, national security and healthcare. George was recipient of the Scrip Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 and named Scientist of the Year by R&D Magazine in 2004. George received his BSc, PhD and DVM at the University of Bristol, UK.

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William Harrington, BSc, MBA, MD

Board Member

Dr Harrington has served on our board since 2016. Bill has spent the last 20 years in venture capital and currently has been one of the managing partners at Osage University Partners (OUP) since 2011. Prior to this, he was General Partner at Three Arch Partners, a west coast venture capital firm with over $1 billion under management, where he focused on investing in life science companies including therapeutics, medical devices, and healthcare services. Bill was previously a practicing Interventional Radiologist in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Bill earned his BSc from Tufts University, summa cum laude, an MD from Harvard Medical School, and an MBA from the Haas Business School, University of California, Berkeley. Bill is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Bill is a member of the Board of Trustees at The Haverford School in Haverford, PA.

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Michael Carusi

Board Member

Michael Carusi has served on our board of directors since 2016. He is an experienced venture capitalist focusing on investments in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors. He serves as a general partner for Lightstone Ventures based out of Palo Alto, CA where he is also a General Partner for Advanced Technology Ventures.

 

Featured on the Forbes Midas List of top technology investors, Mike is a recognized thought leader in the industry and a frequent speaker at healthcare conferences. He serves as a faculty member of the Stanford Biodesign Emerging Entrepreneurs Forum, sits on the Tuck MBA Advisory Board, and is an advisory board member to the UCSF/Berkeley Venture Innovation Program.

 

Earlier in his career, Mike served as a Director of Business Development for Inhale Therapeutic Systems and was a Principal at The Wilkerson Group. Mike has a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University, and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business.

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Peiying Chuan, PhD

Vice President, Strategy and Intellectual Property

With over 15 years of experience in the biomedical industry, Dr Chuan is our Vice President of Strategy and Intellectual Property Development, overseeing MediSix’s collaborative research and development efforts, intellectual property strategy and assets. Prior to Medisix, Peiying held various portfolios at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

 

Most recently, she spearheaded the creation of a large scale, first-of-its-kind research programme in Singapore, and was pivotal in forging global strategic alliances with public and private organisations.

 

Her other portfolios included shaping of public research and development policies, research grant administration, and project management. Peiying holds a BSE in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in Biochemistry from Stanford University.

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Ying Xim Tan, PhD

Director of Discovery Operations

Dr Tan is our Director of Discovery Operations, leading the Discovery team’s research efforts to advance MediSix’s pipeline. She joined MediSix in 2018 as a Research Scientist, and was a key driver in guiding the successful transition of our lead asset, PCART7, from discovery to development. Ying Xim has over 14 years of experience in immunology and cancer biology research.

 

She earned her BSc in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and her PhD in Immunology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she studied the negative regulation of T cell receptor signaling. Prior to working with MediSix, Ying Xim was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, studying the role of methytransferases in liver biology and cancer.

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Cecilia Sim, MBA, CFA

Vice President, Finance

Cecilia joined MediSix in May 2021 and is our Vice President, Finance. She has more than 18 years of corporate finance, fund raising, deal structuring, portfolio management and business advisory.

Prior to joining Medisix, she was the Head of Syndication at CapBridge, a fintech fund-raising platform. Cecilia holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, USA and a Bachelor of Accounting from Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

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Andrew Bruce, BSc

Chief Executive Officer

As the CEO of MediSix Therapeutics based from our headquarters in Singapore, Andrew Bruce leads a strong and growing team in further developing the work of Professor Dario Campana in T-cell engineering. Andrew is an accomplished professional with more than 36 years in the pharmaceutical industry.

 

He has gained broad experience across a range of functions from sales and marketing to supply chain and logistics, medical affairs, therapy area strategy and corporate development. Andrew has held leadership positions within the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical consulting industries, in addition to commercial and strategy roles, including founding and subsequent sale of a global specialist medical consulting leader.

 

He moved to Singapore in March 2021. Andrew gained his BSc at the University of Bradford.

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Professor Dario Campana, MD, PhD

Scientific Founder

Professor Campana is the scientific founder of MediSix Therapeutics. An internationally renowned expert in cell therapy, he was the creator of the first anti-CD19-41BB-CD3z CAR that is the key component of Kymriah, the first CAR T-cell therapy approved by the FDA and marketed globally. Currently, Dario is Professor of Pediatrics at the National University of Singapore, and holds the Mrs Lee Kong Chian Chair in Advanced Cellular Therapy.

 

He is the recipient of consecutive Singapore Translational Research Investigator awards, the Jacob and Louise Gabbay Award in Biotechnology and Medicine and the Republic of Singapore President’s Technology Award. Dario is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. In addition to MediSix, Dario is also the scientific founder of cell therapy start-ups Unum Therapeutics (Cambridge, MA) and Nkarta Therapeutics (San Francisco, CA) and holds several patents.

 

Dario obtained his MD and PhD in Italy at the University of Torino and the University of Milano, respectively. He trained as a scientist at the Royal Free Hospital, University of London, before moving to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where he was Full Member in the Departments of Oncology and Pathology, and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee. Dario’s main interest is translational research in oncology, focusing on monitoring response to treatment in leukemia, and on immunotherapy of leukemia, lymphoma and solid tumors.

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