Malaysian Reserve, August 18, 2008
At least 120 BioNexus
companies by year-end, says BiotechCorp
MALAYSIAN Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp)
aims to increase the number of BioNexus status
companies to at least 120 by year-end, from the
current 71 companies.
“BiotechCorp started issuing the BioNexus status in
July 2007 and up to now, has nurtured 71 BioNexus
companies with a total approved investment of RM 1.3
billion involving 1,400 human capital,” said its
senior vice president (client support services)
Izhar Hifnei Ismail during a media briefing in Kota
Kinabalu last Friday.
Among the applications being reviewed right now come
from three Sabah based companies.
The first involved in aquaculture, the second in
production of bio-organic fertilizer, and the third
involved in tissue culture of high-valued timber and
ornamental plant species, Izhar added.
Currently, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have the
highest number of BioNexus companies, with 26 and 23
companies respectively, while Sabah ranks among the
lowest with two companies.
Izhar said Sabah which is rich in its natural
resources, has potential to grow in the
biotechnology industry, especially in the
agriculture sector.
A potential area the biotech companies in Kota
Kinabalu could look into is the development of
bio-mass such as empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil
palm plantations, into a potential source for
bio-fuel.
“Sabah has a huge area of oil palm plantation. The
technology (to convert EFB) has been explored and
developed in the US, Europe and even in Malaysia. It
is time now to commercialise,” he added.
Another key area that could be developed in Kota
Kinabalu is the tissue culture such as those in
ornamental plants, as Sabah has a lot of wild
flowers that grow in abundance.
“There is a huge, lucrative market in Europe itself
for ornamental plants. If this can be harvested
commercially in Sabah, imagine the kind of revenue
Sabah could generate,” he said.
Izhar said there is also a lucrative market for
animal husbandry in biotechnology and Sabah has the
edge in tapping into this sector as it has been
declared as foot and mouth disease (FMD) free.
“Sabah and Sarawak have the distinction of being
categorised by the World Organisation for Animal
Health as FMD-free, meaning animals being bred from
Sabah and Sarawak can go anywhere in the world.
“There are biotechnology techniques for animal
husbandry… that can help develop for example, a
breed of sheep with constant quality size, high
quality meat. The Middle East and Australia for
instance have been screaming for supply of meat for
their own consumption,” he added.
Asked whether the state has sufficient facility to
cater for the growth of the biotechnology industry,
Izhar said companies can collaborate with Universiti
Malaysia Sabah (UMS) which has ample research
facilities and experts while the state government
has also been very supportive of the biotech
business community in Kota Kinabalu.
What the state needs to work on is the regulatory
part, which needs to be sharpened to create
awareness among companies interested in
biotechnology on the procedures and ethics related
to biotechnology, he added.
BiotechCorp is an agency under the purview of the
Science, Technology and Innovations Ministry and is
wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance
Incorporated. – Bernama
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