BY DANIAL FAUZI

Despite the lack of technological advances during the early days of the pharmaceutical industry , massive breakthroughs and discoveries were made that are still used to this day , such as the accidental discovery of the antibiotic , penicillin , to be used in the treatment of bacterial infections and the discovery of the correlation between the pancreas and diabetes in dogs , leading to the rise of insulin manufacturing for the treatment of diabetic patients .

On the flip side , however , considering that many of these discoveries and breakthroughs are the results of experimentation , it could also be inferred that there was a lack of regulatory framework when it came to manufacturing and distributing medicinal drugs for the consumption of the populace .

Even if there were government regulations on the control of quality , efficacy and safety of medicinal drugs , the enforcement of these regulations was lax at best .

In the modern age of pharmaceuticals , strict regulatory frameworks have been placed by many governing bodies globally to ensure that medicines and drugs are manufactured according to industrial standards for public consumption .

Despite industry standards , there is still a degree of trust issues involved when it comes to the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs . The root of this mistrust lies in the sources of raw materials used to manufacture these products and the lack of transparency by pharmaceutical companies .

This rings true for the Muslim market when it comes to medicine . As the Muslim market continues to grow , so does the demand for medicine from pharmaceutical companies .

However , many Muslims have reservations about some medicines when pharmaceutical companies do not disclose the ingredients .

Therefore , when it comes to setting foot in the Muslim market , pharmaceutical companies must understand that instilling trust within the Muslim community comes from the products and the brand .

STARTING FROM THE TOP

As the old saying goes , trust must be earned , even more so in the Muslim market . Pharmaceutical companies wishing to set foot in this growing market should implement and adhere to a set of standards deemed halal by the Muslim community .

Duopharma Biotech Berhad , a leading Malaysian pharmaceutical company , attested to gaining patients ’ trust through transparency and education .

In an interview with @ Halal , its Group Managing Director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar explained when it came to building trust , it had to start from the top .

“ When discussing halal standards , the governance behind it must be

One can look at halal in two parts ; there ’ s halal itself , and there ’ s toyyiban , halal talks about the product itself in terms of the raw material used . On the other hand , toyyiban talks about the cleanliness behind the manufacturing of it .”

– Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar

Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar key . You must also ensure that the entire company is behind these halal initiatives . It cannot just be through operational initiatives ,” said Leonard Ariff .

Hence , this stewardship has to come from the company ’ s top management . Duopharma Biotech had reinforce their Halal Commitment giving rise to their Halal and Sustainability Committee at the board level . This commitment extends throughout the company until their end products reach consumers and patients .

“ The Halal and Sustainability Committee at the board level . is to provide policy and direction .

“ Then separately , at the senior management level , we also have a Halal Steering Committee as well , made up of representatives from senior management and those at mid-management levels .”

Not only that , Duopharma Biotech has also adopted the “ Halal Built-in ,