Malaysia Reserve, June 19, 2008
Malaysia to seal over
RM1b biotech deals at BIO 2008
The four day event attracted
over 20,000 participations from 70 countries
SAN DIEGO – Malaysia’s growing biotechnology
industry is set to expand further with potential
investments valued over RM1 billion to be inked
during the BIO International Convention 2008 (BIO
2008) here.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk
Dr. Maximus J Ongkili, who is leading Malaysia’s 82
member delegation to the world’s largest
biotechnology gathering will witness the signing of
six agreements by biotechnology companies from the
United States, France, Italy, Korea and India.
The potential investments, over the next three
years, will bring in critical knowledge in areas
that can improve the use and level of technology in
Malaysia’s biotechnology sector, said Biotechnology
Corporation (BiotechCorp)’s CEO Datuk Iskandar Mizal
Mahmood.
In addition, the investments will expand the pool of
knowledge workers in the sector, he told reporters
on the sidelines of BIO 2008 on Tuesday.
The four-day event, beginning Tuesday, attracted
over 20,000 participations from 70 countries and
features 2,200 leading biotechnology companies
around the globe.
BiotechCorp will sign two collaboration agreements
with two foreign partners, namely with US-based
Trusgen in healthcare biotechnology collaborations
and Korea’s Insect Biotech Co Ltd in relation to an
industrial biotechnology undertakings.
Three agreements, involving agriculture
biotechnology collaborations, are to be signed
between ABCAR Asia and ABCAR France, BioNexus-status
Success Nexus Sdn Bhd and Italy’s Merloni Progretti
and between Budi Bio-Fuels and US based PureVision
Technology.
Other agreements that will be sealed during the BIO
2008 here are between Malacca Biotech, Vanguard
Creative Technologies and India’s Vivo Biotech in
healthcare biotechnology.
Iskandar said the successful implementation of the
deals would help reinforce BiotechCorp’s three key
priorities.
Which are to strengthen value creation in building
the biotechnology business, to intensify technology
acquisitions, and to improve processes internally as
well as the level of services externally.
He said the agreements were facilitated by
Malaysia’s relentless efforts in promoting its key
strengths in biotechnology industry to the world –
Bernama
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