Bernama.com (Malaysian
National News Agency), 06 December 2006
New Wave of Biotechnology Industry in M'sia
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will see a new wave of biotechnology industry growth with various concerted efforts undertaken by the government to enhance the development of biotechnology companies, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday.
The prime minister said that this year alone the government had undertaken three measures to enhance the development of biotech research and development (R&D) emphasising commercialisation.
Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for biotechnology and life sciences, the government had allocated RM2 billion for both R&D and industry development, he added.
Greater emphasis was placed on commercialisation, he said when opening the BioMalaysia 2006 Convention and Exposition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here.
He said that this year also saw the full establishment of the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund.
"With US$150 million in committed fund, the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund is ready to begin identifying and nurturing, promising a value creating home-grown biotechnology companies.
"With the creation of this fund, we expect to catalyse the growth of a new pioneering batch of Malaysian biotechnology companies. It is hoped that this batch will provide the critical mass to generate further wave of industry creation in the future," he added.
Abdullah said that this year also saw the establishment of the BioNexus status, a special designation for biotech companies that qualify them to receive special tax incentive grants and other forms of support.
The BioNexus status would complement other industries development measures in growing more Malaysian biotechnology companies as well as in attracting international biotech and life sciences companies to set up base or to set up joint ventures in Malaysia, he added.
At the function, Abdullah announced the first batch of BioNexus status companies.
They are Malaysian Bio Diagnostic Research Sdn Bhd, KL Biotech Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Vivantis Technologies Sdn Bhd, Nova Laboratories Sdn Bhd, The Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology Sdn Bhd and Innobiologics Sdn Bhd. Abdullah said Malaysia was still very much in the initial stages of biotechnology development.
"But with the convergence of these measures, I trust and believe that we will soon see the fruits of our labour," he said.
Much more remained to be done as an ongoing mission, such as the development of human capital and the strengthening of Malaysia's capacity for innovation, he said, adding that this area continued to receive close attention by the government.
-- BERNAMA |
