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AgBiotech & Environment

Malaysia’s push for the agriculture industry is gaining much momentum as radical measures were put in place to stimulate growth in the sluggish industry. The move would see the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry set up a central processing agency as a one stop center for agriculture investments. The move has been lauded as timely as Malaysia is currently seeing agriculture links with Holland ripening, and talks with Germany on agricultural collaborations are underway.

 

Watching evolution at work is the main issue at the Kintabatangan valley as scientists from UMS lauded the diversity of the valley as a haven for wildlife and a natural evolution laboratory. In September, UMS scientists discovered an Opisthostoma snail population with a different looking shell, while later relating it to the predatory behavior of a nocturnal slug.

  
Medical
 
Malaysia has the potential in breaking into the vaccine market by being a producer and exporter of halal vaccines, according to the Prime Minister. The OIC has been receptive for the idea and Malaysia hopes to see itself taking a slice of the vaccine pie with partnerships with other Muslim countries and Malaysian multinational companies. The Prime Minister believes that health-related products should also comply with the multitude of religious beliefs in the world today.
 
The development of vaccines in Malaysia, however, is far from being under-developed as the strong push by the government has seen various companies mushrooming in the country. In fact, Malaysia has been a hotbed of multinational cooperation in this sense. One such example of multinational collaboration on vaccine research is the recent USM-Cuba collaboration which is supported with a RM127 million government allocation for vaccine research.
Industry & Investment
Feedstock supply and biodiesel offtake will be the main issues affecting the biodiesel industry, according to Chris de Lavigne, vice-president of industries technologies and director of chemicals, materials and food, Frost Sullivan Asia Pacific. At his presentation at the “Biodiesel: Renewable Energy” conference, he maintained that biodiesel companies should be considering external factors other than just producing biodiesel, and be realistic about finances. This is a general wakeup call for biotech companies in the thick of the biodiesel gold rush due to strong support by the government for Envodiesel.
 
Mesdaq-bound biotech company, StemLife Bhd. is making waves among the industry as being a company true to its niche area amid the an industry flooded with a multitude of companies proffering generic services. The company’s unique niche of stem cell therapies arose from the initial push to form a stem cell bank between the three founders, Prof. Aw Tar Choon, Managing Director Sharon Low and Christina Lim. They have not looked back since, with the company generating RM 7.7 million in revenue at the end of the 2005 financial year.
  
 
 
The fourth cyber center to receive MSC Malaysia Cybercity status, Kulim’s High-Tech Park is noted to have strong potentials in attracting biotech companies. The new status allows KHTP to enjoy the same priorities and guarantees spelt out under the 10-point MSC Malaysia Bill of Guarantees. The approval by The Multimedia Development Corporation - MDeC is slated to attract not only wafer and integrated circuit companies but also those from the biotech sector.
The recent wave of development in the biodiesel sector has made industry players raring to hop upon the bandwagon. Carotino Sdn Bhd is no stranger to the industry as it is the first company in the world to successfully commercialise the technology for palm biodiesel. Their plans to set up biodiesel plant has materialized as their Tanjung Langsat plant is slated to become a biofuel hub. In fact, riding high on its successes, the company is planning on setting up its 2nd biodiesel plant next to its existing integrated facility in Pasir Gudang, at a cost of RM100 million.
Policy
Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok, believes that the introduction to agricultural activities among urban folks should begin from young. Hence, a programme promoting agriculture to school children was kicked off by the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry by planting various fruit trees in 5 schools across Kelana Jaya. The programme is in line with the Prime Minister’s call of arms in developing the country’s fledging agriculture industry. RM50,000 was provided by the ministry for the project and trees planted include rambutan, sour sop, mangoesteen, guava, kedondong and sukun.
A big boost is expected for the biotech industry, as the Prime Minister announced three new initatives for development of biotechnology in the country during the 2007 Budget. Among them, the Malaysian Life Science Capital Fund which would be worth RM 3.65 trillion by 2015, the BioNexus project and Innobiologic’s Biopharmaceutical plant. The unprecedented move by the government has the industry buzzing, as industry players are seeing the bag of goodies from the budget as a strong push for the development of the biotechnology industry.