BIOMALAYSIA 2011 AND 2011 PACIFIC RIM SUMMIT ON INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENERGY WRAP UP WITH STRATEGIC ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE INDUSTRY.

BIOECONOMY AND BIOMASS STRATEGY AMONGST INITIATIVES ANNOUNCED TO DRIVE MALAYSIA’S BIOTECHNOLOGY AGENDA FOR PHASE 2 AND PHASE 3.

Kuala Lumpur, 23 November 2011 – Malaysia’s premier biotechnology event BioMalaysia 2011 and 2011 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy, ended today, after 3 days of Conference and Exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. The event was officiated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak on 21 November 2011 and attracted more than 8000 visitors. With a theme “For Sustainability and Prosperity of the Nation, Region and the World”- the premier biotechnology annual conference and exhibition featured four tracks covering 98 discussion topics related to Agriculture, Healthcare, Biomass and Biofuels.

BioMalaysia 2011 and 2011 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy was attended by 453 local and international conference delegates and 118 global subject matter experts. The exhibition also featured more than 150 local and international exhibitors with over 300 booths. BioMalaysia 2011 and 2011 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy was jointly organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (BiotechCorp), Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) and Protemp Exhibitions Sdn. Bhd.

During the Opening Ceremony, the YAB Prime Minister launched two strategic initiatives – the
Bioeconomy Initiative and the National Biomass Strategy 2020. Bioeconomy, which encompasses the application of biotechnology to primary industries is slated to become one of the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) for Malaysia, following in the footsteps of mature sectors such as the USA, China, Japan, The Netherlands, Germany and France.

Endorsed by the Biotechnology Implementation Council chaired by the Prime Minister, the Bioeconomy NKEA will help focus local private industry towards high-impact opportunities available within the bioeconomy space while ensuring continuity and cohesive implementation of all related national policies.

“With the launch of the Bioeconomy Initiative, Malaysia is taking its first step towards coordinating and intensifying national efforts capitalising the potential economic benefits of the entire biotechnology ecosystem and related value chains,” commented Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, CEO of BiotechCorp during the wrap-up interview.

Meanwhile the National Biomass Strategy 2020 outlines how Malaysia can develop new biomass sectors with the aim of creating higher value-added economic activities that contribute towards Malaysia’s Gross National Income (GNI) and create high-skilled jobs for the benefit of Malaysians.

BioMalaysia 2011 also witnessed the launch of the Centre for Marker Discovery and Validation (CMDV), a state-of-the-art facility combining extensive agro-genomics R & D experience with the latest in high throughput genotyping platforms to offer the best in genomics solutions and applications for the region.

In conjunction with the launch, strategic collaborations involving BiotechCorp, MARDI and three other parties namely the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, JEFI Aquatech Resources Sdn Bhd and Green World Genetics Sdn Bhd were announced, utilizing the Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) platform technology acquired by BiotechCorp. The technology will enable industry (in the seed and agriculture sectors to develop plant breeding programmes using markers to select desired traits.

“Marker Assisted Breeding (MAS) can expedite the time required to achieve the desired results from the usual 5 to 6 years (using conventional breeding methods) to 2 years,” commented Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee.