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Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Nationwide research study on age-related muscle loss gets $10 million grant in Singapore
Sarcopenia affects nearly one in three Singaporeans aged 60 years or older. It is key to 'bank' muscle health during younger adulthood to help counter muscle loss, said an expert. PHOTO: ST FILE SINGAPORE – Researchers here have secured a $10 million grant for a nationwide programme dedicated to addressing the rising problem of sarcopenia, an age-related disease characterised by the progressive loss of muscle mass, strength and function. Led by SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, this initiative is Singapore's first large-scale study on sarcopenia, which contributes to frailty and a lower quality of life as one ages. The disease leads to increased risks of falls, lower immunity, poorer recovery after surgery, among other adverse effects, but there are no effective treatments at the moment. If sarcopenia is picked up at all, it is only when people are showing severe symptoms such as loss of muscle mass and strength, said Professor Wang Yibin, director of the cardiovascular and metabolic disorders programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, at a media briefing. 'There's not much of a treatment. We don't have drugs, we can only provide them with dietary management and exercise advice. So still, there's a big mystery behind it and that's the main challenge of our project.' Called Mechanistic Investigation and Clinical Innovation for Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Therapy, or Magnet in short, this research project was awarded the $10 million Open Fund-Large Collaborative Grant by the National Medical Research Council on May 28. It brings together physicians and scientists from different institutes here who want to investigate why and how sarcopenia is triggered along with ageing or other disease states, and to find new ways of treating it. In the five-year study, Magnet will build a biobank of muscles and serum from 1,000 sarcopenia patients. It already has 500 such samples, collected in the past three years from surgical patients at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) under a programme there led by Clinical Associate Professor Frederick Koh, a colorectal surgeon and a Magnet principal investigator. Professor Teh Bin Tean, the deputy chief executive officer of research at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), said he and Prof Koh had worked together to establish the tissue bank. At NCCS, researchers have been studying cachexia, which is sarcopenia associated with an advanced stage of cancer. About 20 per cent of advanced-stage cancer patients develop it, and it leads to poor health, poor drug response and reduced quality of life, said Prof Teh. Prof Koh said sarcopenia is associated with increased complications from surgery, and increased mortalities. 'In cancer patients... if you have sarcopenia, cancer cells have been shown to come back earlier. So this gives us a connotation that muscle is not just about movement and it's not just about tolerating stress, but it may also play an immune role... which we do not know much about today.' It is still early days when it comes to treatment possibilities. Prof Koh said they have found from earlier studies in SKH and Changi General Hospital (CGH) that the molecule HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate) – a metabolite of the amino acid leucine – may be beneficial, but further studies are needed. 'HMB may be one therapeutic agent which has shown some promise in early clinical trials in our experience, and we are expanding on that experience to run a larger study as part of the Magnet project,' he said. The term sarcopenia was coined in 1989 but it was recognised as a disease only in 2016. Recent studies have established the prevalence of sarcopenia, which affects nearly one in three Singaporeans aged 60 years or older. It also affects younger adults with chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes – one in 14 Singaporeans under 60 is estimated to have the muscle-wasting disease. 'For muscles, you need energy, protein and physical activity. So the high-risk group would be people who don't have enough energy, don't have enough protein, and are inactive,' said Associate Professor Samuel Chew, a senior consultant at CGH's geriatric medicine department. 'By the time we are 80, even if we are healthy, we would have lost at least about one-third of our muscle mass,' said Dr Chew. It is hence important to 'bank' muscle health during younger adulthood to help counter muscle loss over time, he added. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Daily News Egypt
27-04-2025
- Business
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt's Minister Al-Mashat addresses growth, climate finance at IMF/World Bank meetings
Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, continued her participation in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., engaging in multiple events focused on global growth, the green transition, and the future of jobs, according to a statement from the ministry. The Spring Meetings, held under the central theme 'Jobs for Prosperity', provided a platform for Minister Al-Mashat, who also serves as Governor for Egypt at the World Bank Group, to outline Egypt's strategies and collaborations. Climate Finance and Jobs During a panel discussion titled 'Investing in the Future: Mobilizing Finance for Jobs and Skills in the Climate Transition,' Al-Mashat discussed how climate action could foster technological progress, reduce risks, and improve economic efficiency. She highlighted Egypt's National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) 2050, describing it as a roadmap for tackling the country's main climate challenges. 'This strategy encompasses priority projects across key sectors like energy, food, and water—all crucial for building climate resilience,' Al-Mashat stated. 'Through the NCCS 2050, we aim not only to mitigate the impacts of climate change but also to achieve a just and equitable transition towards a green economy that leaves no one behind.' The minister affirmed that Egypt's national investment plan supports the NCCS by directing public funds towards climate mitigation and adaptation projects in sectors including infrastructure, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and water resource management. She explained that environmental impact is a key criterion for project selection, alongside comprehensive feasibility studies assessing economic, social, and environmental factors to ensure alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and value addition to the economy while protecting the environment. Al-Mashat also detailed the role of Egypt's national platform for the NWFE Programme (Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy), launched during the COP27 climate conference. The programme, operating under the NCCS 2050 framework, aims to provide an integrated approach to equitable climate finance, concentrating on water, food, and energy projects for mitigation and adaptation. 'The programme helps mobilize innovative and blended financing tools, debt swaps, development grants, and technical support, thereby driving Egypt's green transition efforts,' she noted. Al-Mashat added that the platform encourages private sector investment in related projects, contributing to job creation. Future of Growth In a separate session organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on its 'Future of Growth' initiative, Minister Al-Mashat joined fellow panellists Maurice Obstfeld (Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics), Saadia Zahidi (Managing Director, WEF), and Eswar Prasad (Professor of Trade Policy, Cornell University). Al-Mashat emphasised Egypt's close partnership with the World Bank Group, terming it a 'knowledge bank.' She mentioned ongoing collaboration between her ministry and the WBG, coordinated with various national bodies, to develop Egypt's national economic development narrative. This work involves analysing the Egyptian economy and formulating targeted policy recommendations for priority sectors like industry, exports, foreign direct investment (FDI), and macroeconomic policy. She outlined the ministry's 'Sustainability and Finance for Economic Development' framework, which guides efforts towards economic development by focusing on human capital, industrial growth, infrastructure, FDI, and entrepreneurship, supported by macroeconomic stability and structural reforms. The minister asserted the government's commitment to achieving quality growth through sustainable investments, green growth promotion, enhanced private sector participation, support for entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation, and the use of data for evidence-based policymaking. Al-Mashat also referred to a Letter of Intent signed with the WEF to launch an 'Economic Growth and Development Catalyst' in Egypt. She confirmed this allows Egypt to join the WEF's 'Future of Growth' initiative, which seeks to reshape global growth approaches and help policymakers balance quantitative and qualitative growth aspects. 'This step supports Egypt's economic development goals and allows us to leverage insights from the WEF's Centre for the New Economy and Society,' she added. Global Humanitarian Action Additionally, Minister Al-Mashat participated in a session titled 'The Future of Global Humanitarian Action,' hosted by the think tank Overseas Development Institute (ODI). The session, moderated by ODI Executive Director Elisabeth Campeau, included Freddie Carver (Director of Programmes, Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI), Jake Cusack (Co-founder & Managing Partner, CrossBoundary Energy), James Richardson (CEO, Board of Directors, Pompeo Foundation), Kate Phillips-Barrasso (Vice President, Global Policy & Advocacy, Mercy Corps), and Ketleen Florestal (Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, Haiti). Discussions focused on the future requirements for humanitarian aid, including tools and methods to attract investment and market opportunities for populations affected by conflict and instability. The dialogue considered how to implement change following the United Nations' call for a 'comprehensive reset of humanitarian action,' acknowledging that progress on reform has been limited despite commitments made at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. The statement noted this session was part of a discussion series organised by ODI Global in Washington, D.C., coinciding with the week of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings for 2025.
Egypt Independent
29-03-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Planning Minister partakes in WFP roundtable on debt swaps for development
Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania Al Mashat said effective partnerships, national ownership and integration, and a resilient governance structure are key factors the success of debt swap programs. Mashat made the remarks during a World Food Program (WFP) roundtable discussion hosted by Spain on debt swaps for sustainable development and building resilient food systems, the ministry said in a press release on Friday 28/3/2025. Participants explored practical ways to enhance policy and operational frameworks for debt swaps, and how to mobilize global support for integrating the debt for development swap tool into the international development finance agenda. Reviewing Egypt's debt swap experience as well as her ministry's role in this regard, Mashat showcased the country's success stories, including the fruitful cooperation with Italy, which helped in securing the funds needed for 114 development projects in various fields, and a debt swap program with Germany under Egypt's Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) platform – a part of Egypt's National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) 2050. Mashat shed light on the results of the debt swap program with Germany as well as the development projects pursued under the program to provide better school feeding and quality education, rehabilitate hydroelectric plants, and improve drinking water and sanitation services. She also highlighted ongoing projects under the third tranche of the swap program with Germany, which covers a set of projects to combat school dropout and child labor, along with some energy projects. The roundtable discussion was held in preparation for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), set for June 30 – July 3 in Seville, Spain.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ReCerise Signs New Research Collaboration Agreement towards Development of Innovative Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
SEOUL, South Korea, February 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ReCerise Therapeutics Inc. ("ReCerise"), a company committed to research and development of first-in-class therapeutics in oncology, recently entered a research partnership with the National Cancer Centre Singapore ("NCCS") to develop innovative treatments utilizing multi-omics data analyses in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This collaboration will be conducted under the PLANet programme (Precision Medicine in Liver Cancer across an Asia-Pacific Network), which was conceptualized and led by NCCS based on the intra-tumoral heterogeneity of liver tumors and its highly dynamic tumor microenvironment (TME). The longitudinal study performs comprehensive multi-omics profiling of tumor and blood samples from liver cancer patients. This collaboration will leverage the processed multi-omics data collected under the PLANet programme, and will be led by Prof. Pierce Chow Kah Hoe, a prominent global expert in the field of HCC. Prof Chow is a Senior Consultant Surgeon in the Division of Surgery and Surgical Oncology at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and NCCS, and principal investigator of the PLANet programme. HCC is a highly prevalent cancer with a poor prognosis due to late diagnosis and low response to existing immunotherapeutic treatment options. ReCerise was established with the purpose of investigating and developing new therapeutic modalities to address such unmet medical needs. So far, basic research and proof-of-concept studies on a liver specific protein have demonstrated promise as a potential solution. ReCerise hopes to expand upon this background knowledge by utilizing real-life evidence in collaboration with NCCS to investigate an HCC patient cohort and confirm the target's expression and its effect on the liver microenvironment. "We are excited to collaborate with NCCS to accelerate the development of an innovative new drug for the treatment of liver cancer that ReCerise has been working toward," said Yong-Bae Kim, CEO of ReCerise Therapeutics. "Through this joint research, we plan to conduct multi-faceted studies on the development potential of RCT1213, a hepatocellular carcinoma treatment candidate currently under development, by utilizing the various omics data and research database of Asian HCC patients at NCCS." The research collaboration between these two parties is a research and development project funded by the Korean government and is subject to the management and supervision of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT). About ReCerise Therapeutics Inc. ReCerise Therapeutics, established in 2020, is a pioneering South Korean biotech company dedicated to advancing first-in-class treatments for liver cancer and liver-related diseases. Utilizing its novel technology, ReCerise is committed to developing breakthrough treatments to address unmet needs for patients with refractory cancers. The company has consistently demonstrated its research competence through successful execution of numerous government projects. Recently, it was selected for the 'Baby Unicorn 200 Nurturing Project' overseen by a Korean government organization, the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups. View source version on Contacts Head of Business DevelopmentJennie Goh+82-70-4640-3239contact@ Sign in to access your portfolio
