Biotechcorp, Quintiles Team Up To Steer Malaysia's Biotech Industry To Greater Heights

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, March 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) today signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Singapore’s Quintiles East Asia Pte Ltd in a bid to drive Malaysia's biotechnology industry to greater heights. The Memorandum of Collaboration was signed by BiotechCorp Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal and Quintiles’ Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Markets, Dr Anand Tharmaratnam at the ongoing 5th BioPharmaAsia Convention at Marina Bay Sands here. Quintiles is the only fully integrated biopharmaceutical services company offering clinical, commercial, consulting and capital solution worldwide. Its partnership with BiotechCorp signify interests in the areas of Shared Services Central Laboratory and Biobank, Clinical Research Graduate/Internship Training Programme, Stem Cell Research and National Vaccine Hub. BiotechCorp, the leading agency for the biotechnology industry in Malaysia, will provide and facilitate the necessary support for the development of the projects stipulated in the agreement. Commenting on the partnership, Dr Mohd Nazlee said, "Overall, the collaboration will be an important step. I see Quintiles as one of the global players in terms of the clinical development. "Our memorandum of collaboration is looking into how Quintiles can play (its role) more in Malaysia in terms of training, development of clinical, bids in terms of clinic trials and development, and others. "I think with BiotechCorp we believe that there are more things that we can work together for both organisations to benefit," he told Bernama. Earlier in his address, Dr Mohd Nazlee, who is one of the speakers at the convention, also said: "We are extremely excited to collaborate with Quintiles, a recognised leader in the clinical research industry. "This collaboration is part of BiotechCorp’s proactive initiatives in its tenacity to create a supportive ecosystem for clinical research in Malaysia to encourage not only the industry, but also the researchers. "This movement will position Malaysia’s healthcare sector to be on an optimised competitive edge within the biotechnology industry globally, with the mutual support and utilisation of expertise and knowledge from both BiotechCorp and Quintiles. "The industry will see a scale-up of technologies and knowledge in the clinical research aspect of the industry, stimulating the capacities for growth and leveraging on strategic relationships to find new healthcare solutions." He noted that this goal is directly in line with Malaysia's aspiration to become a strong research force in the region to meet public health needs and benefit the society at large. Meanwhile, Dr Anand said: "Quintiles believes Malaysia’s biotechnology sector has enormous potential, and the government is actively engaged to build the right environment for success. He said today’s signing is a step towards what will be a collaborative relationship between Quintiles and BiotechCorp to provide the infrastructure and knowledge transfer necessary to expedite Malaysia’s ambitions in clinical research. The BioPharma Asia Convention is a four-day biopharmaceutical event from March 19 to 21. -- BERNAMA