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AgBiotech

 
Malaysia is not without strong potential for biotechnology, in fact it has always been a rather nurturing environment for the industry due to its geographical advantage compared to neighbouring countries for the advancement of Agricultural sciences. One of our major institutes of agriculture would be Universiti Putra Malaysia, located in Serdang, Selangor. According to the director of the UPM Research Management Center, despite having eight research groups, the university's speciality is agricultural and bio-resource research. Such excellence is not gone unnoticed by the Government, and UPM has been getting its bulk of research funding from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Sabah is following suit as a farming village is slowly making a name for itself as its sweet crop of pineapples are deemed the choicest of the Malaysian species. Regularly sought by visitors and traders Babagon pineapples are sold to hotels and restaurants, and are given off as souvenirs to visitors of Sabah. According to Federal Agriculture and Agro-based industries, Malaysia exports 1.6% of the world market share in pineapples, valued at RM 9 million in 2000. Of the 15,117 hectares planted nationwide, Sabah only has 1,265 hectare. Such statistics speak of an industry teeming with great untapped potential waiting to be uncovered.
  


Food & Nutrition

  
Well-known for its myriad of mouth-watering cuisine, Malaysia, now is even more notorious for being the country with the highest population of obese people in Asia. As a result, many Malaysians are in the high risk faction for many diseases including hypertension, high cholesterol, heart problems and renal diseases. This leads to an estimated RM46 billion lost each year to lost man-hours, health care costs and related losses, and this sum would increase to RM56 billion by the year 2010 if current trends were to continue. To combat this, the Health Ministry drafted the National Plan of Action for Nutrition, a 10-year plan aimed at helping Malaysians adopt better dietary habits. RM1.868 million would be allocated for the ministry’s healthy lifestyle campaign, and a new Recommended Nutrient Intake for Malaysia would be launched as a guideline for food and nutrition activities.

As the Malaysian diet generally consists of rice, one way to reduce health risks is to consume brown rice. In a timely move coinciding with the shift of focus towards health consciousness by many Malaysians, Serba Wangi Sdn. Bhd launched its own brand of locally produced brown rice.. The rice, known as ecoBrown, is manufactured from selected padi through COGEN, an European drying process which allows the original taste to be retained.

Industry & Investment

The current surge of interest in biotechnology sees various states and organisations jumping on the bandwagon as they begin setting up infrastructure and working out incentives to woo investor dollars. One example would be Penang as Universiti Sains Malaysia is preparing to set up its biotechnology park. Slated to be established in two years time, the proposed park will be sitting on a 72 hectare plot of land owned by the university and the commercial division of the university, the Usains Group.


Another example would be, University Putra Malaysia’s collaboration with local biotechnology company, The Origin Foods Sdn. Bhd. According to University Putra Malaysia Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Zohadi Bardaie, the collaboration would see biotechnology-based research on food products while simultaneously exposing current students to facilities in the private sector. In the long run, such an approach would aid the flagging local biotechnology industry by developing local talents, and also provide a niche in which local companies are able to claim a stake in global competition.
In the private sector, the @enstek integrated township, a technology park developed by TH Properties Sdn. Bhd., is slated to be a hotbed for high technology and non-pollutant industries. Up to date, the township, located in Negeri Sembilan has attracted up to RM 100 million in investments from both local and international biotechnology companies intent on setting up operations. The multi-billion ringgit township will be completed in 2025, with a gross development value of RM 7 billion.
Similarly, INNO Biologics Sdn. Bhd. announced that it would begin production for biotech products by the middle of 2006 at its new manufacturing facility in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. The RM 80 million high-tech facility is the first of its kind in Malaysia and even Asia, and would be a significant milestone for the local biotechnology industry, producing a range of biologic products such as granulocyte colony stimulating factors and human interferon beta which are respectively used in cancer and fertility treatments.

In line with such interest, a head of a US biotech firm has implored Malaysia to cooperate with institutions like the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to promote biotechnology. He enthused that North Carolina houses an aggressive biotechnology market and has several programmes assisting the start-up of such businesses. By using North Carolina’s example, Malaysia would be able to gauge a dynamic market and realise the full potential of the fledging local industry.


Trade & Policy

May 20th 2003, Malaysia committed itself to the development of biotechnology by launching BioValley Malaysia, celebrated as a great leap in the development of science and technology in the country. However, two years on and Malaysia still seems to be shuffling its feet in developing the much-hyped about science hub. To tackle the lack of development in the biotechnology sector and to give the industry a much needed boost, the Government is planning on launching The National Biotech Policy this month.

The policy aims at improving on existing resources and developing local talent to claim a stake in the billion-dollar industry. Instead of the constant focus on the construction of new infrastructure, the government would upgrade existing facilities like University Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Genome Center, University Sains Malaysia, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute into national centers. Under the policy, government-linked companies like Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Renong Bhd would be included to invest in biotechnology projects to help create a niche for the Malaysian biotechnology industry.

However, before jumping into a long-term commitment in the biotechnology industry, industry players would expect clearer guidelines to be announced by the Government by the end of the month. Evidently, the prime cause of the sluggish growth is the lack of coordination among the related governmental departments. What follows are wild goose chases and bureaucratic red tape against investors and as a result, frustrated investors are taking their money elsewhere, like the Singaporean industry hub, Biopolis.

Such an approach is supported by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In his keynote speech at the Islamic Academy Science who urged Malaysia to pave a clear way for the development of science. He noted that it is bureaucratic red-tape that is preventing scientists from returning to the country. Instead of providing a conducive environment for scientists to contribute to the development of the country, the returning scientists are often asked a barrage of questions and have their enthusiasm dampened.

 
Despite such setbacks, pharmaceutical and phytonutrient manufacturer Hovid Bhd. was able to break through the red tape and emerge as a strong player in the local industry market, as the company debuted this month at the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia with relatively strong market interest. On the movement of the price, managing director David Ho predicted to do better in medium to long term. He also commented that other than Malaysia, Hovid would be eyeing China, India, New Zealand and the Middle East for possible growth. In fact, Ho looks forward to Hovid’s entrance into the Chinese market by some time next year.

On the other hand, Pharmaniaga Bhd. has formed a joint venture with two companies to set up a pharmaceutical supply chain in South Africa. In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, the joint venture would also see the three companies explore business opportunities in related areas.