10
@Halal | september-october. 2019
Cover Story
leonard says that the established halal ecosystem in malaysia propels duopharma Biotech to become the
leaders in halal pharmaceuticals
Halal
meds
for the masses
One pharmaceutical company took the risk and push forward
in getting their products certifi ed halal
A
S A MEMBER of the general
public, the first thing we
would associate halal with is
the food and drinks we con-
sume. We tend to forget that
medications, the things we
are prescribed with when we fall sick, are also
things we consume - and therefore should
also be halal, no?
The notion struck a cord in one particular
pharmaceutical company, and they have
took a valiant eff ort in providing the Muslim
public a safer choice in pharmaceuticals.
the pioneer
Duopharma Biotech Berhad (previously CCM
DuopharmaBiotech Berhad) is a Malaysian
pharmaceutical company that had a business
idea back in the 90’s, a business idea way
beyond its time. “We were the fi rst pharma-
ceutical company in the world to receive a
halal certifi cation,” starts Leonard Ariff Abdul
Shatar.
Leonard is the current Group Managing
Th e soft gel capsules that
is commonly made from
gelatin.
Director of Duopharma Biotech, and he shares
a story that cultivates a lot of interest in us as
a halal publication.
“When we fi rst strive for halal certifi ca-
tion, the notion of getting medication
certifi ed as halal was unheard of. Therefore
we took the approach of getting the vitamins
and supplements to be certifi ed halal under
the food standards.”
The company received their first halal
certifi cation in 1999. And their achievement
actually pre-dates any type of halal standards
developed specifi cally for pharmaceuticals,
therefore the move is a particularly smart one
to make.
“We’ve been a part of the halal pharma-
ceutical industry for more than 20 years now.
And in a way, we became the one to set the
path. When it came for the actual standards in
pharmaceuticals being developed a few years
back, we took an active interest because we
have about 13 to 14 years of experience at the
time,” Leonard tells. The standards for halal
pharmaceuticals Leonard speaks of is the
MS 2424:2012, of which is going through its
updating phase as we speak.
the UniQUe challenge faced
As a pharmaceutical company striving for
halal certifi cation, it would be easy to imagine
that they face unique challenges along the
road. And facing unique challenges they did.
A particularly interesting one Duopharma
Biotech had to go through was when they had
to clean their production line because it was
discovered that one of their products actually
contain porcine-based ingredient.
We all know what to do when we want to
clean something that were contaminated
by porcine, we perform the ‘sertu’ (clean-
ing of contaminated surfaces with water
and clay). The problem was that the idea of
using a substance such as mud clearly con-
tradicts the Good Manufacturing Practice
(GMP) guidelines in pharmaceutical
manufacturing.
“The incident happened when we were
in the midst of developing the standards for
halal pharmaceuticals. We have found that
one of our products were actually porcine-
based. We deployed a massive recall for
damage control, however the production
line that produced the particular product was
essentially contaminated.”
A detailed GMP cleaning was done, but
they still needed to fi gure out how to perform
Aspirations in halal
Duopharma Biotech
strives to be the
diff erentiator in the
pharmaceutical industry
T
HE RISE in demand for halal prod-
ucts globally is so prominent that
it would be highly unwise to not
penetrate the market at this point. The
Halal Industry Development Corporation
(HDC) estimates that the global halal trade
will be worth USD30.6 trillion within the
next decade.
For Duopharma Biotech Berhad, the
eff orts made to become Malaysia’s fi rst
pharmaceutical company to be certifi ed
halal since 1999 are now seen as a future-
proofi ng step in the right direction.
However, what are the aspirations for
the pharmaceutical trader-turned-lead-
ing halal pharmaceutical manufacturing
company in present times? For that, we
had the chance to speak to Wan Amir-
Jeff rey Wan Abdul Majid, Chief Operating
Offi cer of Dupharma Biotech Berhad on
the company’s trajectory for the near
future.
partnering With the BeSt
According to Wan Amir-Jeff ery, the com-
pany is always evolving to fi t the needs of
consumers. Duopharma Biotech partners
with various companies that has products
to fi ll the gaps in healthcare. “We look at
products that are in demand, or a disease
that is yet to have solutions, or a market
which has very few players to tap into
and fi nd partners that can provide the
solutions. That is where we are going as
of now,” he says.
Wan Amir-Jeff rey states that the com-
pany will continue to collaborate with
companies who have new technology - a
new therapeutic modalities such as stem
cells for example.