BiotechCorp reinforces strong support ecosystem for bio-based industry growth in the Northern Region.

Penang, 23rd May 2016 – The continued success of the bioeconomy agenda in Malaysia’s Northern region is fortified thanks to the northern series of BioPartnering 2016. Organised by the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) for the third time, this business networking event connected bio-based companies, SMEs, MNCs, entrepreneurs and researchers with end-to-end support services, at the Northern Corridor Biotech Center in Penang.

Chief Executive Officer of BiotechCorp, Dato’ Dr. Mohd Nazlee Kamal said that establishing a strong support ecosystem in this part of Malaysia is vital, especially with the Northern region expanding into new growth sectors of the bio-based industry, particularly medical devices and biotechnology-driven agriculture.

“A robust support ecosystem which covers business, regulatory and technical aspects is crucial to match the needs of a growing industry in the region. BioPartnering provides an easy and direct access for industry players to connect with this complete ecosystem, by gathering technical expertise from the BioNexus Partners (BNP) laboratories, as well as our supporting partners including CREST Malaysia, PlatCOM Ventures, MATRADE, NPCB and Koridor Utara Malaysia to provide business, funding and regulatory advisories,” said Dato’ Nazlee.

He said BioPartnering also conveys the importance of certified laboratory testing, product certification with international standards and claims validated with scientific evidence in opening new market horizons for the bio-based industry.

“Products or services that meet the international standards of equality, safety as well as efficacy could position them at a premium level, allowing our local bio-based players to penetrate and compete in the global market. We need to encourage the industry players to take this leap and move to the next level, especially as we are working to drive Malaysian bio-based companies to the global markets and increase export values of our bio-based products,” added Dato’ Nazlee. He said this strategy is crucial to achieve the targets of ‘Going Global’, the third phase of the National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) from 2016 to 2020.

The event also fostered industry-academia partnerships through BioNexus Partners (BNP) network, a key component of the Malaysian bioeconomy agenda to accelerate commercialisation of industry-driven innovations. The BNP network is a programme initiated by BiotechCorp since 2008 to gather selected key laboratories and expertise in the country to provide technical services, facilities and trainings to the industry to support their R&D and commercialisation needs. In 2015, BioNexus Status companies have generated nearly RM275 million of revenues by utilising the BNP laboratories and units, highlighting their contribution to Malaysia’s bioeconomy growth. Moving forward, BiotechCorp will be establishing the Bio-Laboratory Services center, an outsourcing industry-driven center for the bio-based industry players to accommodate their commercialisation needs, ranging from services, equipment, trainings, and expertise.

While previous BioPartnering events in 2010 and 2014 held conventional exhibitions and talk sessions, this year’s event included a more focused business speed networking session, targeting on specific clusters including biomedical devices, cosmetics and wellness, halal bioproducts, green technology, agriculture, aquaculture, and crop clusters. The 2010 and 2014 BioPartnering saw gatherings of more than 800 industry players from bio-based companies, SMEs, entrepreneurs, suppliers, services providers and researchers.