The Star,
21 May 2008
Potential to become hub
for tissue banking
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia could be a hub for tissue
banking in the region, if the public and private
sectors provide adequate support, said Malaysian
Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd chief executive officer
Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood.
Iskandar said tissue banking had a history of over
30 years in the country starting with the enactment
of the Human Tissue Act in 1974.
Since then the National Tissue Bank (NTB) was
established in 1994, followed a year later with a
fatwa by Pusat Islam in 1995 allowing the use of
human tissues for medical purposes.
Iskandar said tissue banking offered exciting
possibilities in managing complex bone and cartilage
diseases, spinal cord injuries and other serious
health problems.
“The key action for Malaysia is to industriously
complement the efforts of NTB and Nuklear Malaysia -
which is in charge of research and development in
generating new nuclear technology applications to
raise the level of commercialisation in tissue
banking,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at a briefing on tissue
banking yesterday, Iskandar added that tissue
banking and its therapy applications could help
lower the cost of healthcare for many nations,
including Malaysia.
He said the 5th World Congress on Tissue Banking in
Kuala Lumpur from June 2 to 6 would provide a
platform for world experts and prominent clinicians
to exchange knowledge and insights into new
applications and challenges in tissue banking.
“We also believe this area has great commercial
potential,” he said, adding that NovaSterilis, a
United States based which provides sterilisation
technology for medical devices and human tissues
estimated the US tissue market to be worth RM400mil
in 2007.
Iskandar said it would cost about RM80 mil to RM100
mil to kick off the development of a centre of
excellence for tissue banking. |
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