The Star,
Tuesday April 8, 2008
Room for growth in stem cell research market
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's stem cell research and
therapy market is estimated to be worth US$157mil,
said Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp)
chief executive officer Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood.
He said although the penetration rate for stem cell
research and therapy was still small, the potential
of the sector was huge, with year-on-year growth
rate estimated at about 12%.
“The numbers will be much more in the next five to
10 years. The growth and success of the
biotechnology sector hinges on our success in
expanding capability and competency of our people in
biotechnology,” he said after the launch of the Stem
Cells Operational & Professional Excellence (Scope)
programme by Stempeutics Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd
yesterday.
Stempeutics is a subsidiary of India-based Manipal
Education & Medical Group. It aims to promote stem
cell activities in Malaysia with focus on research,
therapeutics and therapy in the field of
regenerative medicine.
Under Scope, Stempeutics will train 15 Malaysian
employees at its facilities in Bangalore, India in
preparation for the commencement of Stempeutics
world-class stem cell lab at Technology Park
Malaysia next month.
“We have an ambitious target of expanding the pool
of knowledge workers in biotechnology from 40,000 in
2011 to 80,000 by 2015. Thus the Scope programme is
key for us to continue closing the gap,” he said,
adding that the country still lagged behind China,
India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and
Singapore in terms of number researchers.
Iskandar said apart from Stempeutics, there were a
few more companies in Malaysia undertaking stem cell
therapy due to the rising global interest in
regenerative medicine.
Stempeutics president B N Manohar said the company
had planned to set up multiple labs in Malaysia. “To
date we have invested about RM6mil for our first lab
but we see the need for two more labs. This will
cost about RM30mil in the next three to four years.”
The next batch of Scope training would be in
Malaysia and the trainee headcount would grow to 45
people in the next 12 to 24 months.
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