The New
Straits Times, 11 March 2008
More firms to be
awarded BioNexus status by year end
MALAYSIA is expected to roll out a total of 70
BioNexus status companies by year end from 42 in
2007 said Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd chief
executive officer Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood.
BioNexus status is awarded to eligible biotechnology
companies which qualify them for government
incentives such as tax breaks and research grants
aimed at bolstering the industry further.
Iskandar said nine new companies joined the industry
since January this year making a total of 51
BioNexus status companies currently.
Of the total, 47 are local companies and the
remaining tour foreign firms bringing total
investments of RM1 billion to date.
“So far we have seen a lot of developments in the
industry and see a lot of international
collaborations coming to the country”.
“We are pretty confident that we will be able to
meet this year’s target,” he told a media briefing
on the latest developments in identifying and
treating cancer in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Iskandar also said Malaysian Genomics Resources Sdn
Bhd which is a BioNexus status company will bring
the Washington University Genome Sequencing Centre
to Malaysia on March 25 as part of the company’s
eminent speaker series event.
The centre is one of the world s largest DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing centres and is
known for cutting edge studies on deciphering the
genetic code of various organisms as well as of
critical diseases such as cancer.
The institute is also a customer of Malaysian
Genomics’ holding company Synamatix Sdn Bhd, a
pioneer Malaysian bioinformatics company.
“The eminent speaker series provides the opportunity
for Malaysia’s biotechnology industry to hear
discuss clarity and exchange opinions on the key
trends and developments in the biotechnology
sector,” said Iskandar.
He added that the latest political changes in the
country will not affect the biotechnology sector -
By Zaidi Isham Ismail |
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