Elpis Biopharmaceuticals signs cell therapy research pact with National Cancer Centre Singapore to advance armored CAR-T innovation

Elpis Biopharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage cell therapy company headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) to advance translational cell therapy research targeting solid tumors. The collaboration is designed to accelerate the clinical development of Elpis’s proprietary bispecific armored CAR-T cell therapies, marking a significant expansion of the company’s footprint into Southeast Asia’s growing biomedical research ecosystem.

While Elpis Biopharmaceuticals is privately held and does not trade under a stock ticker, the deal reflects broader global momentum in personalized oncology and next-generation cell therapy investments. It also signals Singapore’s ambition to emerge as a regional hub for advanced immuno-oncology clinical trials.

Why is Elpis Biopharmaceuticals partnering with NCCS?

The MOU centers on evaluating and advancing Elpis’s cutting-edge cell therapy platforms, including EPC-002 and EPC-003, which are currently in global clinical trials for solid tumors. Unlike conventional CAR-T therapies, which have largely been confined to hematological malignancies like B-cell lymphomas and multiple myeloma, Elpis’s armored CAR constructs are engineered for solid tumor applications. These constructs integrate bispecific targeting, multi-mechanism armor, cytokine support modules, and rapid mRNA display technology for enhanced tumor penetration and immune activation.

Elpis will provide its full technology suite—such as its mRNA discovery engine and antibody libraries—while NCCS will bring clinical expertise, trial infrastructure, and a pipeline of patients for first-in-human trials. The collaboration aims to target hard-to-treat cancers, including colorectal, ovarian, and pancreatic tumors, for which effective immunotherapy options remain elusive.

The planned co-location of an Elpis research lab at NCCS’s facility further strengthens the operational integration between the two organizations. Shared equipment and open access to clinical data pipelines will accelerate hypothesis-to-human transitions, consistent with NCCS’s Precision Immunotherapy Program.

What makes armored CAR-T different from traditional cell therapies?

Armored CAR-T cell therapies represent an emerging frontier in immuno-oncology. Traditional CAR-T constructs rely on T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors that bind to specific cancer markers—mostly on blood cancer cells. However, solid tumors present unique immunological and physical barriers, such as a suppressive microenvironment, heterogeneous antigen expression, and tissue infiltration challenges.

Elpis’s bispecific armored CAR-T therapies aim to overcome these barriers. By incorporating dual targeting domains and protective “armor” modules—such as cytokine payloads and checkpoint blockade elements—the company’s EPC-series therapies are designed to persist and function effectively even within hostile tumor ecosystems.

Elpis’s rapid mRNA display platform also allows the team to iterate antibody designs faster than conventional phage display methods, enabling faster discovery of tumor-specific antigens and antibody-like constructs for incorporation into CAR-T scaffolds.

According to Yan Chen, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Elpis Biopharmaceuticals, “This partnership reflects our commitment to rapidly advancing innovative immunotherapies from discovery to clinical development. By combining Elpis’s proprietary platform with NCCS’s clinical strength, we aim to translate scientific discovery into therapeutic breakthroughs for patients who currently have limited options.”

Why is Singapore important for Elpis’s clinical roadmap?

Singapore’s biomedical ecosystem has matured significantly over the past decade, with government-backed initiatives fostering translational research, biomanufacturing capacity, and clinical trial readiness. The National Cancer Centre Singapore plays a central role in this ecosystem, housing a wide range of phase I/II trials and multidisciplinary cancer care.

By establishing a physical presence within NCCS and integrating into its clinical workflows, Elpis gains access not only to regulatory and trial infrastructure but also to regional patient populations and data repositories that support precision medicine development. This aligns with Singapore’s 10-year Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE2025) plan, which prioritizes oncology, immunology, and precision health as national R&D pillars.

Professor Lim Soon Thye, CEO of NCCS, underscored the importance of the collaboration: “The potential of using cell therapies for solid tumors is still being explored, and this collaboration enables us to evaluate promising new technologies to address unmet clinical needs.”

How does this collaboration impact Elpis’s broader strategy?

The MOU with NCCS is the latest in a string of global initiatives by Elpis Biopharmaceuticals to expand its clinical and geographic reach. The company’s foundational “living drug” strategy—treating cancer with dynamic, patient-specific biologics—relies heavily on adaptive platforms that can be tuned across tumor types and patient subgroups.

Chee-Yong Lim, Co-Founder, Co-CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at Elpis, described the agreement as “a key step toward enabling broader clinical translation of our cell therapy technologies.” He added that the partnership also strengthens Elpis’s ability to enter Asian markets, where regulatory frameworks and cancer demographics present new opportunities for immunotherapy trials.

Elpis’s cell therapy pipeline has shown preclinical promise in targeting tumors with low immunogenicity or complex stromal barriers. Data from early-stage trials involving EPC-002 and EPC-003 have suggested favorable safety profiles and early biomarker signals, though formal peer-reviewed outcomes have yet to be published.

With the backing of this collaboration, Elpis may be positioned to initiate regulatory interactions with Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and potentially fast-track investigational new drug (IND) applications in the region.

What are analysts and investors watching next?

While Elpis is not yet publicly traded, its partnerships and R&D milestones are being closely monitored by biotech investors and venture firms active in the cell therapy space. The solid tumor CAR-T segment remains high-risk but high-reward: according to market research firm GlobalData, fewer than 10% of CAR-T therapies in development for solid tumors reach phase II trials due to challenges in tumor microenvironment navigation and durability.

However, breakthroughs in multi-armored constructs and regional partnerships like this MOU are shifting the sentiment. Analysts expect further licensing agreements, regional manufacturing tie-ups, or even strategic funding rounds as Elpis moves toward expanded clinical validation in 2026 and beyond.

Moreover, Singapore’s growing role as a trial destination—complemented by its international regulatory alignment with the U.S. FDA and EMA—positions it as a bridge for Asian biotech-commercialization pathways.

Industry insiders believe that Elpis’s ability to de-risk early-stage solid tumor trials with translational data from NCCS could lead to additional research collaborations across East Asia, especially with institutions in South Korea, Japan, or Hong Kong.

What does this mean for the solid tumor immunotherapy field?

This collaboration contributes to a broader recalibration of oncology R&D toward solid tumor indications—areas with high unmet need but substantial scientific complexity. While most of the commercial success in CAR-T has thus far come from hematological applications (e.g., Gilead’s Yescarta, Novartis’s Kymriah), the next growth frontier lies in solid tumors, which account for over 90% of all adult cancers.

By leveraging next-generation tools like bispecific targeting, cytokine modulation, and mRNA antibody discovery, companies like Elpis are attempting to redefine the efficacy ceiling of T cell-based therapies in solid malignancies.

Professor Daniel Tan of NCCS noted that this partnership is emblematic of a new translational model—where bench-to-bedside development is conducted within integrated ecosystems and international consortia. “With our respective strengths and a shared goal of transforming care through translational science, we look forward to jointly developing novel cell therapies to meet urgent clinical gaps,” he stated.

What’s coming next in Elpis’s pipeline?

Elpis has hinted at upcoming preclinical readouts on additional armored CAR constructs and expansion into dual-modality therapies, combining CAR-T with checkpoint inhibitors or cytokine therapies. The company is also investing in AI-driven target discovery and non-viral delivery systems to accelerate construct generation and improve safety.

With the NCCS agreement providing both infrastructure and patient access, Elpis may look to initiate its first-in-human Singapore trials as early as mid-2026. Analysts expect these early trials to inform its global regulatory strategy, including possible submissions to the U.S. FDA and EMA.

As the competitive landscape for solid tumor CAR-T heats up, Elpis’s collaboration with NCCS places it among a vanguard of biotech innovators redefining what’s possible in cell therapy.