Medicine to customise treatment plans for cancer patients

Cancer patients at Parkway Pantai’s hospitals in Singapore can now benefit from personalised treatment plans and more accurate diagnostics with the help of cancer genomics testing.

Through Next Generating Sequencing (NGS) which can retrieve more comprehensive genetic information from tumor tissue, doctors are able to determine which drugs are more effective for the patients.

Parkway Pantai is the only private healthcare provider in Singapore with in-house precision medicine capability. It brought precision medicine into its integrated suite of healthcare solutions, after buying a 55 per cent stake in Angsana Holdings Pvt Ltd for a total consideration of S$9.3 million. The transaction which took place on 31 July further strengthens Parkway Pantai’s leading position as a global healthcare provider.

“With Angsana Molecular and Diagnostics, we now have the molecular capabilities to customise medical treatment for each individual patient. Precision medicine enables doctors and patients to make better informed decisions on how to manage diseases more efficiently and safely,” says Dr Tan See Leng, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Parkway Pantai.

Angsana operates two College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited laboratories in Singapore and Hong Kong. Its key products include Non Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT), allergy testing and cancer genomics.

“We are committed to deliver high-performance and affordable molecular diagnostic services to tailor treatment to the needs and characteristics of individual patients,” says Dr Chris Tan, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Angsana Molecular and Diagnostics. “We are excited to work with Parkway Pantai’s vast network of healthcare facilities to meet the health demand of the Asian population.”

Plans are being formalised for Parkway Pantai’s 14 hospitals in Malaysia to perform NIPT, in collaboration between Pantai Premier Pathology and Angsana. NIPT - a molecular test which detects chromosomal abnormalities such as Trisomy 21 in the fetus through a simple blood-draw from the mother - will also be offered at Parkway Pantai’s 10 hospitals and medical centers in India.