GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS TO CREATE A VIBRANT MALAYSIAN BIOECONOMY Collaborations and networking sessions creating traction to make Malaysia as a prime Bioeconomy hub in Asia Pacific

San Diego, 26 June 2014 – The Malaysian delegates led by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Dr. Ewon Ebin concluded their Bio-Trade and Investment mission here today in conjunction with the International BIO Conference and Exhibition, San Diego 2014.

Organised by the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), the event is part of a series of Bio-Trade and Investment missions that commenced in Minnesota on the 18th June, continued in San Francisco on the 20th and concluded today in San Diego.

Also joining the delegation is the Deputy Minister of Health, Datuk Seri Hilmi Yahaya, Deputy Chief Minister Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Alfred Jabu Anak Numpang, and a diverse delegation from Malaysian state governments of Kedah, Sabah and Sarawak, industry players,
economic corridor development authorities and investment promotion agencies.

The trade mission were designed with a focus to explore the prospect of investment and partnerships with global players in the bio-based sector, specifically in the areas of BioMedical and BioIndustrial, and to strategically position Malaysia as the prime hub for bioeconomy investment in Asia. More than 150 global companies participated in the three locations in networking sessions and one-to-one partnering meetings.

“I believe it is essential to form global partnerships to create a vibrant Bioeconomy, and this trade and investment mission is critical to contribute to our economic growth and job creation,” said Datuk Dr. Ewon.

During the Malaysia Partnering Day held in conjunction of BIO International Convention San Diego, seven exchanges of documents of collaboration proposals were made:

1. Collaborations between Algae International Berhad (AIB) and Nutrigae to develop mutually beneficial programs/projects to generate algae related products. With the collaboration, AIB and Nutrigae are looking to establish a partnership in cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, edible oils, environmental, climate change mitigation, food and many other areas in which AIB will be lending the use of its technology, processes and brand whilst Nutrigae will be responsible for planning, implementing and operating the business in North America.

2. Sengenics Sdn Bhd to collaborate with CollabRx Inc to Expand Turn-Key Whole-Exome Clinical Diagnostic Service. Leveraging on CollabRx cancer exome interpretive analytics by utilising CollabRx’s semantic integration platform, scientists and physicians are able to dynamically update the company’s molecular oncology knowledge base with the latest medical and scientific data available in the public domain. The partnership will also leverage on Sengenics’ ‘Galaxy DB’, the largest private database of Asian Cancer and Developmental Disorders mutations, by seamlessly pairing the high-quality results of genomic sequencing tests (generated by Sengenics) with clinically actionable and dynamically updated knowledge (provided by CollabRx in the form of interpretive reports) and cross-correlating with Sengenics existing proprietary genomic database. Galaxy DB currently consists of close to 4,000 clinical exomes with more than 1.2 billion variants.

3. Exchange of Document between Neopeutics & Felda Wellness Corporation paves the way for the potential discovery of new therapeutic substances from traditional Malaysian medicines and Malaysian biodiversity for the international market. Collaboration will provide employment opportunities for knowledge workers as well as the general workforce, with emphasis on training and world-class career development.

4. Exchange of Document between FELDA Wellness Corporation and Gordagen which will pave the way for the two companies to collaborate on scientific, technological and commercial exploration of the metagenomes of tropical organisms’ drug development of tocotrienol (T3) compound. This research project is aimed to extract a new compound within Vitamin E from the palm oil to create beneficial health products for exercise endurance, heart health and glycaemic control.

5. Exchange of Document between FELDA Wellness Corporation and Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad which involves genome sequencing service for plants and genetic screening service for humans. The genetic screening test, known as Dtect, involves a range of genetic tests that are designed to screen DNA for known genetic markers associated with risks for diseases. Each Dtect test is customised for a specific group of diseases, such as Cardiovascular Diseases, Metabolic Diseases and Paediatric Diseases. The results from the Dtect tests can help manage health for the general population.

6. Exchange of Document between FELDA Wellness Corporation and Seeloz. Working with a data mining company such as Seeloz will enable FELDA Wellness Corporation to use the data to identify market opportunities and to expand operations on a global scale that can create more jobs and bring in economic benefits
for Malaysia.

7. FELDA Wellness Corporation to collaborate with Naerok in research and commercialisation of functional cosmeceutics in South Korea. Naerok is a Seoul-based consulting firm which specializes in the marketing of cosmetics and health products. FWC’s plan is to make Korea its manufacturing hub
for the East Asia region.

“Malaysia has a robust and rapidly developing bioeconomy with diverse opportunities, and we are seeing fantastic opportunities to meet with bio-industry captains to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with global companies who are interested to access or expand into Asian markets,” said Dato’ Dr. Mohd Nazlee, chief executive officer of BiotechCorp.

“The Asia’s bioeconomy future is happening right here, right now, in Malaysia,” he added.

For media inquiries, kindly contact:

ROSSURAYA ABDULLAH
Vice President, Strategy Management & Communications
Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation

Tel: +603 2116 5588
Fax: +603 2116 5313
Email: rossuraya.abdullah@biotechcorp.com.my