| Innovation |
august-september, 2020 | The Health
19
Towards Malaysia’s
first commercial
biosimilar
production facility
VentureTECH’s RM15 million investment through
a tripartite MoU to build production facilities for
Malaysia’s first commercial biosimilar facilty
BY CAMILIA REZALI
Malaysia intends to carve a niche
for itself as a regional player in
the growing biosimilar market.
Towards this aspiration,
a tripartite Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was
signed between VentureTECH, leading
pharmaceutical company Duopharma
Biotech Bhd and South Korea’s PanGen
Biotech Inc.
It will lead to Malaysia’s first commercial
biosimilar production facility and is
expected to be completed in 2024.
The MoU was signed by the Managing
Director of VentureTECH, Dr Norida Abdul
Rahman and Group Managing Director of
Duopharma Biotech, Leonard Ariff Abdul
Shatar. PanGen Biotech co-President and
Chief Executive Officer Prof Yoon Jaeseung
had signed the document earlier.
The ceremony was witnessed by the
Minister of Science, Technology, and
Innovation (MOSTI), Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy believed “this strategic MOU
and international collaboration in
biopharmaceutical market could further
spur the growth of biotechnology industry
in Malaysia, as the ministry sets to prime
biotechnology as the main engine of growth
for Malaysia’s economy”.
From a global viewpoint, biosimilars are
a mounting market with the Asia-Pacific
expected to represent 32.8 per cent of the
market by 2027 to become the next biggest
biosimilar market after Europe.
VentureTECH, which is owned by The
Malaysian Industry-Government Group
for High Technology (MIGHT), will invest
RM15 million into the joint venture between
Duopharma Biotech and PanGen to produce
biosimilar drugs to cater to both the
domestic and export markets.
Norida said: “As an impact investor,
VentureTECH is armed with a mission to
create substantial and meaningful socioeconomic
impacts in our every investment
decision, while placing equal emphasis on
local industry development.
“We have identified the potential
impacts from this synergy. Among them
are generating high-skilled employment
and increasing demand for highly-skilled
local talents particularly in the high-value
biopharmaceutical products.
“There would also be promotion of
technology adoption to make healthcare,
especially chronic diseases that require
biosimilar treatments more affordable
especially to the B40 and M40 segments.”
Before this, Duopharma Biotech and
PanGen had co-developed Erythropoietin
(EPO), the first biosimilar drug
manufactured by a local pharmaceutical
company, which resulted in the
establishment of the MoU.
“This collaboration (MoU) signifies the
importance of a strategic partnership. It is
an acknowledgement that rapid innovation
always arises from a rich blend of expertise,
knowledge transfer, and skills development
coming together to establish new
milestones,” said Leonard Ariff.
“The joint venture between Malaysian
and Korean pharmaceutical companies
IT’S A DEAL: Signing the
MoU is Dr Norida (left) and
Leonard Ariff witnessed
by Khairy, Secretary
General of MOSTI, Datuk
Ir Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir
and Malaysian Industry-
Government Group for
High Technology (MIGHT)
President & CEO Datuk Dr
Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman.
OVER TO YOU: Dr Mohd
Yusoff handing over
the Economic Market
Analysis Report and the
Pharmaceutical Industry
Analysis to Khairy.
will establish the first biopharmaceutical
production in Malaysia. We envision it will
become one of the largest biopharmaceutical
facilities in Southeast Asia.”
He is confident of this considering
Duopharma Biotech’s excellent
infrastructure and PanGen’s reliable
platform technologies. This joint venture
company is targetting to cater to Southeast
Asian markets, and ultimately to the Middle
East and Europe countries.
“But first, the main focus will be on the
development and manufacturing of several
biosimilar products. Subsequently, we will
build a strong R&D team to develop new
biopharmaceutical drugs in the pipeline,”
said Prof Yoon.
“We believe this second collaboration will
build a neverending friendship between two
companies.”
Innovation and technology in healthcare
are being pushed forward to ensure patients
are given better options to live a better and
healthier life.
Duopharma Biotech is the first Malaysian
pharmaceutical company to commercialise
its biosimilar branded as Erysaa, activating
its commercialisation since April 2019.
Eryssa has been certified halal by the
Korea Muslim Federation (KMF) and
is already under the review of Jabatan
Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) to
obtain halal certification in Malaysia. This
biosimilar product is currently being filled
and finished in Duopharma Biotech’s facility
in Klang.
Since 2010, and with the addition of this
joint venture, VentureTECH has invested
in 18 technology industry leaders from
start-up to mezzanine and growth stages in
the targeted biobased, emerging and green
industries, with an aggregate portfolio
revenue of more than RM340 million, and
investee collective net worth that has
surpassed the RM1 billion mark. — The Health
Khairy: We must
have a roadmap for
vaccines
The flaring-up of the Covid-29 virus has
moved the Malaysian government to play
a more active role in advancing healthcare,
promoting technology adoption and working
hand in hand with industry players.
Minister of Science, Technology and
Innovation (MOSTI) Khairy Jamaluddin
said there was an urgent need to
improve the quality of life and access
to healthcare by making healthcare
affordable and more accessible to the
people.
He emphasised the government
needed a clear roadmap for the
development of human vaccines
to ensure health security and
comprehensible formulation process.
At the moment, Malaysia was not
at its best capacity to come up with
human vaccines. Instead, we only have
the ability to make animal vaccines.
“We are placed in an unstrategic
position when we are dealing with the
pandemic preparedness,” said Khairy.
The government has seen the
growing sector of biotechnology
because this is one of the industries
which can generate investments. But
concerns regarding health security is
far more vital.
Khairy mentioned if Malaysia were to
benchmark itself with other countries in
Southeast Asia in developing vaccines,
“we are very much far behind”.
So, for the security and the
development of vaccines, he suggested
there must be a roadmap.
Diving into the development of
vaccines required high cost. Most
stages towards the development of the
biological field have been carried out.
So, this is seen as an entry point for
Malaysia and an opportunity to move
forward not only in production and
R&D, but also after entering the sector.
Khairy said: “Considering that
Covid-19 is not the only pandemic
standing and I think there will be more
pandemics to come, it propels Malaysia
to view on its pandemic preparedness
and a proportion of that will be to look at
the development of vaccines.”
The roadmap for the production
of vaccines will take in about six
months to complete, but the period
of implementation will depend on the
planned procedures in the roadmap
itself.
“Recently, Duopharma Biotech Bhd
came forth to offer its fill and finish
facility. From here, we can see on what
other development needs so that one
day Malaysia can produce our vaccine
for all types of disease,” he added.
In another way, Malaysians can
genuinely make use of the talents
available in the field of science as well as
generating more research on vaccines.
Malaysia now only has one study
conducted for human vaccines.
Once the vaccine is made available,
the government will study with the
Ministry of Health the cost implications.
Secondly, it will be on the level of
prioritisation based on the age group.
Khairy said: “At the end of the day,
what is most important is the vaccine is
widely available, it is actively distributed
and placed at the lowest cost possible.”