Team Alumni Award (2021): Dr Shi Jiahai and Dr Le Thi Nguyet Minh, Co-Founders, Carmine Therapeutics

Dr LE Thi Nguyet Minh (Life Sciences, 2005) (right) and Dr SHI Jiahai (PhD in Biological Sciences, 2008) (left) received the award in recognition of their efforts to reimagine biotechnology procedures and for pioneering new standards through Carmine Therapeutics, a company they formed in 2019.

Carmine Therapeutics is the world’s first company to harness red blood cell extracellular vesicles as vehicles for gene therapy. It is also a pioneer as the first gene therapy company in Southeast Asia.

Dr Le said, “Our ambition is to advance gene therapy for better treatment of critical diseases. We hope to solve the main challenges in gene therapy by providing better technology for nucleic acid delivery using extracellular vesicles…We also aspire to put Singapore on the world map for biotechnology evolution.”

So far, Carmine Therapeutics has inked a research alliance of over SG$1.2 billion to develop and commercialise its treatments for rare genetic diseases, making history as one of the biggest deals ever received in the Singapore biotechnology and pharmaceutical start-up scene.