Bioeconomy workshop gathers key stakeholders to identify BioEconomy projects in northern economic region

Kuala Lumpur, August 27th 2013 ~ Following the successes of previous Bioeconomy Workshops and Lab Sessions held this year in Sabah and Sarawak, a two-day Bioeconomy Workshop will be organized in Penang to identify commercial opportunities in bio-based industries within the Northern Economic Region of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, and Perak.

This event is organized by Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) in joint collaboration with Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA).

“Since its emergence, the Bioeconomy Transformation Program (BTP) has been driving Malaysia towards the fulfillments of the ultimate goal of the National Biotechnology Policy, which is globalization, and a sustainable bioeconomy.

This Bioeconomy Workshop is a shared effort that aims to identify new private sector driven projects and opportunities in the Northern region to be placed under the BTP that further advance our bioeconomy,” commented Dato’ Dr. Mohd Nazlee Kamal, chief executive officer of BiotechCorp.

“The continuity of BTP development through identification of trigger project aims to drive growth in the bio-based industry while bridging the gap between potential stakeholders and the commercial market in Malaysia. Projects from the Northern Region that will be placed in the pipeline will be further nurtured as potential FDIs/DDIs,” added Dato’ Nazlee.

As Malaysia’s primary modern food zone and one of the national centers for biotechnology, the Northern Economic Region plays a significant role in the BTP and can serve as the springboard for Malaysia’s aspiration to become a high-income, global bioeconomy by 2020.

BiotechCorp is working closely with the Department of Fisheries and Agricultural Research and Development Institute of Malaysia (MARDI) to move Malaysia on the transformative path to generate greater innovation, productivity, and business for the sustainability of Malaysia’s bio-based economy.

BiotechCorp is therefore actively looking towards strengthening the bioeconomy of the Northern Economic Region by leveraging on its rich natural biodiversity and established agriculture and biomedical sectors. Identifying bioeconomy trigger projects with significant impact for the region’s development in terms of Gross National Income (GNI) contribution, approved investment and creation of job opportunities would be the first step in realizing this objective.

The Northern Region houses several bio-based subsectors under BioMedical and AgBiotech sectors: crop biotechnology and natural products are concentrated in Perlis; biopharmaceutical/pharmaceutical, aquaculture, and medical device in Penang; and biopharmaceutical/pharmaceutical, aquaculture and natural products in Kedah and Perak.

The workshop will be held from August 29th to 30th 2013 at the Koridor Utara Biotech Centre in Penang Science Park. During the two-day workshop, a number of proposed trigger projects will be identified for the Lab Session where a detailed action plan and economic impact for each of the trigger projects will be validated and constructed further.

Since the official launch of the BTP in Oct 2012, BiotechCorp has been continuously identifying and evaluating high-potential proposed Trigger Projects to be added under the BTP through state -specific workshops and lab sessions, which have so far been conducted in Sabah (February 2013) and Sarawak (June 2013).

Under the current BTP, a total of 10 EPPs and 20 trigger projects had been identified which is collectively set to increase Malaysia’s GNI by RM3.6 billion in year 2020, and attract investments worth RM10 billion into Malaysia’s biotechnology industry, while creating 16,300 new high quality job opportunities for Malaysians.

During the workshop, partakers will be able to share viable commercial opportunities or prospective projects in bio-based industries as well as other relevant industries and economic sectors that produce, manage and utilize biological resources.

More than 100 bioeconomy stakeholders, including leading industry players, government agencies, universities and research institutes, are expected to participate in the workshop.

Participation in the Northern Region BTP workshop is open to private and public sectors with interest in commercializing bio-based activities. Institutions/Organizations interested to participate are invited to register their interest via e-mail bioeconomy@biotechcorp.com.my