FIFTY patients with a rare blood disorder will be testing if a potential drug to treat their disease will work on humans.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) is teaming up with local biotech company S*Bio to test the company's second cancer drug code-named SB1518 in the next three months, S*Bio announced on Friday.
S*BIO scientists will work closely with TTSH investigators to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects of the drug on patients diagnosed with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).
Diseased blood cells from these patients will be taken and analysed by scientists from both sides.
The potential drug is designed to treat three types of diseases: leukaemia and some kinds of lymphoma, and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) - a group of blood disorders where blood production goes into overdrive.
The TTSH team will be led by Dr Ong Kiat Hoe, a consultant haematologist from the Department of Laboratory Medicine.
Other doctors on the team include Dr Ponnudurai Kuperan, Dr Lee Lian King, Dr Fong Sing Zern and Dr Chiam Yaw Yung.
In a statement on Friday, Dr Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of S*BIO said: 'TTSH has an excellent team of physicians and we look forward to working with them in evaluating effective medicines that will provide long-term solutions to current palliative options for MPN patients.'
Clinical trials of the drug have already begun in the United States and Australia. The one to be conducted at TTSH will involve patients with MPN.
