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| Molecular Medicine Breakthroughs in Kelantan |
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| “(The rest of the world) will always be 20 years behind if the West is interested (in a particular research topic), and can always 20 years ahead if they aren’t.” That is the quote attributed to Nobel laureate Professor Ahmed Zewail that has been the rallying cry behind the strong development for medical diagnostics from the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Universiti Sains Malaysia. | ||||||||||
Located in the scenic Kubang Kerian campus of USM, INFORMM is the labour of love of its director, Professor Dr. Asma Ismail, who has among her many accolades gained more than 45 scientific publications, attained 7 international grants, filed 8 gene sequences, received more than 57 awards and recognitions at national and international levels and has served as the WHO temporary Advisor for vaccine and diarrhoeal diseases since 2002. Prof Asma has also been made a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2003 and served as its council member since 2007. Charismatic, outspoken and driven, Prof. Asma has taken up Ahmed Zewail’s quote as her rallying cry in her challenge to develop diagnostic kits with a Malaysian branding for the world. |
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Prof.
Dr. Asma Ismail
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“It
was a chance encounter with Ahmed Zewail with several scientists when
he mentioned the fact that the key to gaining an edge in research was
through focusing on those that Western researchers have omitted,”
commented Prof. Asma. “Western researchers generally work on infectious
diseases that are more critical to the Western society like influenza,
HIV etc. while they might not be too keen on concentrating on Asian
interests like dengue, typhoid, cholera, dysentery which is very common in the
Asian region. However, with half the world population located in Asia,
we can potentially solve half the world’s problems by developing
our products for Asian interests.”
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| “Hence, his (Ahmed Zewail’s) comment made me understand that enough is enough, we as Malaysian scientists should stop trying to play catching up with Western scientists while there are many other issues to resolve. We should strategize to address Asian problems that have been overlooked and the spirit in me wants to turn things around and play the games on our own rules.” | ||||||||||
 | Big
words from a petite lady, but the conviction in her voice also promise
that her words pack a punch. Pack a punch, they do. INFORMM despite being in existence for 4 years, managed to commercialise 8 diagnostic
kits worldwide, with 7 patents attained and 23 pending, that is enough for the
world to pay attention to the unlikely location of being in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. Just
as unassuming is the INFORMM building, which looks more like a scenic
bungalow hideaway. However, beneath the colourful façade, the
building is an underground hive of activity, where cutting edge research
in molecular medicine is being conducted. In the words of Prof. Asma,
research can be done just anywhere, and it does not have to be right
in the middle of the intense activity of Kuala Lumpur for it to be cutting
edge.
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Commercialized
diagnostic kits
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Thus far, INFORMM’s strengths lie in rapid
diagnostics and pharmacogenomics. In the area of rapid diagnostics,
there are two main categories of products namely protein-based tests
and DNA-based tests. Several kits have been successfully commercialized
and was even used as a standard testing kit in the aftermath of the
2006 Tsunami tragedy in Acheh. While in pharmacogenomics, INFORMM is
one of more than 120 centers of excellence in the country, and one of very few
research institutes delving in translational research.
What is the edge that INFORMM which has made it so successful, especially in the development of diagnostic kits? The answer lies in the commitment and wisdom that Prof. Asma and her team has been able to tap into, which is to do high end research but design to provide low tech solutions to address the needs of the targeted clients. “In
Malaysia, we are blessed to have many institutes and hospitals with
specialized staff members who are able to conduct technical testing.
However, by understanding the limitations of most less developed countries
outside of Malaysia, understanding the need for low tech solutions which
are easy to understand and conduct, we are able to work backwards to
meet the needs of these countries in the Asian region,” noted
Prof. Asma. “In the development of a kit, we need to assess three
things, affordability, accessibility and quality, and I would not compromise
on any of these premises.” | ||||||||||
“For example, outside the country, there is little if no possibility of maintaining a cold chain in the transport of products. Hence most commercial kits currently available are not accessible and quality suffers, while the cold chain also increases prices affecting affordability. Hence, we tend to work backwards with the end in mind to meet what our end client wants. These are the people who are in dire need of such kits.” “Of course, at the beginning, many of my postgrad (students) told me it was impossible to do so. However, my advice to them was, ‘Kalau tak ada (jalan), adakan’ (if there isn’t (a way) then make one),” she quipped. ”That in essence lies the challenge of R&D”. “In fact, I try to make the usage of the product being idiot-proof, by offering pictures showing instructions instead of purely by words, as it helps us overcome the language barrier without any hindrance.” Citing an example, Prof Asma noted USM’s development of the thermostabilized polymerase chain reaction (PCR), used for copying DNA. The typical PCR process generally involves many kinds of reagents, requires refrigeration for transport and storage , and need various specialized techniques and equipment which can be exhaustive and hard to understand and peform. However, by freeze-drying the reagents and primers, INFORMM has managed to cut out the refrigeration requirement, and the person doing the sampling needs only to include a sample from the patient and add sterile water before running the process. | ||||||||||
However, next on the list would be the requirement of dispensing the PCR machine for a better alternative to copying DNA . INFORMM in collaboration with University of Deakin in Australia has managed to develop its own PCR disc and device that can offer an alternative cheap and rapid DNA test. . It utilizes a different platform from that of the current PCR machine. The prototype is being developed and need further testing and evaluation. We are trying in our own way to innovate and challenge the status quo and preliminary results show promise.
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When requested to comment on commercialization and the lack of institutes commercializing their products on a regular basis, Prof. Asma lamented on the lack of support from the business community. “Biotech being a deep-pocket industry with a longer lag phase, local VCs and the business community are reluctant to put money in for the long haul. More money is being pumped into other industries like property and manufacturing, as the business community lacks the knack for “K-based” industries and opt for those that have fast returns but are not sustainable. A rapport must be created between both parties. The business community must believe that knowledge can be turned into a business. As long as the current mindset survives, the industry will be lagging.” On the topic of biosafety, Prof Asma believes that there is a need to address biosafety in a mature manner so the current regulation and laws would not be seen and used as a hindrance to research. “I believe we need to push for the regulatory mechanism, however the scientific community must be involved in the discussions so that it would not be read extremely and impede our progress in science. We need to be careful, just as we did with ethics, so that it does not impede our work and create a backlash to the scientific community.”
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| By K. C. Liew for MABIC | ||||||||||
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