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AgBiotech

The Rural Development Corporation is seeing the fruits of its labour as it Boer goats project shown positive results. Boer goats are scoring high marks as income-earners among two groups of farmers here due to their fast growth and nutritional value. The project, which started in early 2006, managed to acclimatise the goats to local conditions. The corporation was filling a gap in the import of goat meat from Australia , an effort which will also help livestock breeders explore opportunities to produce high-value meat for the local market.

  

A big push is needed in the Malaysian agriculture sector, as high risks and low returns from the agriculture industry are putting the private sector off from investing in it. Only 15 per cent of the RM20 billion worth of investments expected from the private sector in the Ninth Malaysia Plan have been raised so far. In fact, GLCs were tasked to pick up the pace in expanding the sector as the private sector had been dragging its feet in doing so.

 
 
With a vast area suitable for padi planting, Sarawak would be the country's main rice producer in the near future, state Secretary Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot said yesterday. Under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score), food-based industries are the top industries prioritised by the government. In this respect, Nestle's pilot project on contract farming of red rice launched last year would be a pioneering example which may convince farmers to follow suit. However, calls have been made to develop the rice industry in a holistic and sustainable way, in lieu of the many pests and boons including weedy rice.
           
Medical & Policy

For its outstanding scientific contributions to the socio-economic development of the country the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine at Universiti Sains Malaysia (INFORMM) has been awarded US$100,000 (RM326,000) by the Islamic Development Bank. The award will be used to upgrade the institute's research and development facilities. It was the combined efforts of the 10 academic staff and over 40 support staff to develop cheap but quality diagnostic tests for contagious diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and tuberculosis to win the prestigious award, presented in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 3 for USM.

 
Malaysia is showing its support for stem cell research by approving a RM32 million allocation to develop and strengthen stem cell and cord blood banking activities in the country. According to Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, RM5.86 million was for the setting up of a stem cell transplantation laboratory at Institute for Medical Research, while RM18.87 million was for the expansion of the public cord blood banking facility at the National Blood Bank and Sultan Abdul Halim hospital in Sungai Petani. Another RM5.57 million is to strengthen stem cell and bone marrow transplantation services at Ampang hospital. A National Stem Cell Committee has also been formed to provide governance and leadership. However, Liow warned that stem cell research and treatment must be within the agreed ethical guidelines.
 

Out of the RM300 million received for private sector funding to promote biotechnology from 2006 to 2010 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, RM120 million has been utilised to date. Among them, RM3 million to buy the licence for a nanotechnology platform from French company Nanobiotix SA. Currently, Malaysian Biotechnology Corp (BiotechCorp) has set its sights on acquiring three more tech platforms by the year-end. According to chief executive officer Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, Biotech Corp is looking at several companies which are in major biotechnology markets such as United States , Europe and also Australia . The multiplier effect of Biotech Corp's platform acquisition will see applications in healthcare, environment, food production and cosmetology. Currently, there are 56 BioNexus status companies and they have committed RM1.3 billion in total investments.

 
Industry & Investment
All is looking good for Masteel's biotechnology arm, Bio Molecular Industries Sdn Bhd (BMI), as it will soon see the entry of joint-venture partner, Belgium firm IBA Molecular, while a 0.8 ha site is 60% completed. With long-term plans to list BMI on the Mesdaq Market to raise money for the latter's regional expansion, BMI will first have to achieve a certain level of earnings before it gets listed. Wholly owned by Masteel, BMI was set up to produce the radiopharmaceutical, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG).
 

Singapore-based Chakra Biotech Pte Ltd has inked a tenancy deal with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to set up incubation facilities. The company plans to invest as much as RM20 million in Penang over a three-year period while tapping on USM's intellectual property. USM's commercial arm - Usains Holding Sdn Bhd - will host Chakra Biotech's operations at its Kompleks Eureka facility. In Singapore, Chakra serves as a drug discovery and development company aiming to improve the lives of people with central nervous system disorders.

 

Stemlife Bhd expects revenue to grow by up to 40 per cent again this year, driven by strong demand for its cord blood banking service. The company registered a revenue growth of 40 per cent to RM20.5 million. Umbilical cord blood contains stem cells or cells that have the unique ability to turn into any other cell types in the body. They are typically stored as a precaution as the cells could be used in the future to treat diseases. StemLife holds a 60 per cent share of the local umbilical cord blood stem cell market.

 
Construction has commenced for Malaysia 's largest biodiesel plant in Kuala Lukut, Port Dickson. The construction of the plant, amounting to RM900 million and has the capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year, has begun and will be completed within 22 months. AGRO Biotechnology Technovation (M) Sdn Bhd (ABT) was formed as a result of a science and strategic planning project research Nur Arzrin in 2006, who holds a Bachelor of Science, Biotechnology from University of Malaya.