The Health | jan/Feb, 2020
04
News
Briefs
MoH cautions against purchase
of fake ‘zam zam’ water
THE Ministry of Health (MoH) has advised the
public not to buy water labelled as ‘zam zam’
water locally as it could be fake.
Its Director General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham
Abdullah said zam zam water is categorised as
natural mineral water and subjected to Regulation
360A of the Food Regulations Act 1985.
“The import of natural mineral water requires
an MoH license on the water source that has
been validated by the geology and hydrology
authorities of the exporting country. In this case,
the government of Saudi Arabia has never issued
such validation because zam zam water cannot be
traded. Therefore, no distributor or company has
obtained a license for the import and sale of zam
zam water,” he said in a statement.
He said the ministry through its Food Safety
and Quality Division constantly enforces the
ruling on the sale of packet drinks and unlicensed
natural mineral water.
“To date, RM77, 358.30 worth of zam
zam water has been confiscated through our
enforcement efforts conducted since 2012.”
Dr Noor Hisham said anyone found guilty of
selling unlicensed packet drinks and natural mineral
water can be fined up to RM10,000 or jailed up to
two years under the Food Regulations Act 1985.
The public is urged to channel any information on
the sale of water labelled as zam zam water to the
nearest district health office, state health department,
or through the BKKM official Facebook page.
Wishes for underprivileged
children fulfilled
THE children of Fugee School were thrilled when
Kenny Rogers ROASTERS (KRR) made a visit
to the school as part of their annual Wishing
Tree campaign. This school for refugee children
in Malaysia is co-founded by Deborah Henry,
Malaysia’s former beauty queen.
The visit by KRR and GO Communications
which included fun activities, meaningful
presentation of gifts and sharing of wholesome
meals, brought smiles to the 155 children at
Fugee School, that was a beautiful sight indeed.
“We have always upheld Wishing Tree’s objective
which is to bring love and happiness back to the
community regardless of their races and ethnicity
ever since the installment of the campaign.
We believe that every child deserves an equal
opportunity to learn and be showered with love.
“The satisfaction of putting a smile on
thousands of children by having their wishes
fulfilled are beyond words. Thus, we are proud to
keep on going with the Wishing Tree campaign
that has been part of our annual calendar for the
past 15 years,” said Kennie Thong, Marketing
Manager of Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn. Bhd.
“The generosity of Malaysians by supporting
and believing Wishing Tree campaign has
also become one of our motivations to keep
this special campaign annually. For this year
alone, we are happy to report that we will be
fulfilling more than 2,000 wishes from 46 non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) nationwide!
Not forgetting, we have KRR meal contributions
throughout the year, in line with our efforts to
provide basic necessities such as wholesome
meals for the needy,” she added. — The Health
From left: Tan Sri Siti
Sa'diah, Chairman of
Duopharma Biotech;
Jalil Rasheed, President
and Chief Executive of
Permodalan Nasional
Berhad; and Leonard
Ariff Abdul Shatar, Group
Managing Director of
Duopharma Biotech.
Strengthening halal
pharmaceuticals
Duopharma Biotech signs MoU with KPJ Healthcare Berhad
to collaborate in development initiatives of halal pharmaceuticals
D
uopharma Biotech Berhad (formerly
known as CCM Duopharma Biotech Berhad)
today unveiled its new corporate logo and
name at an external rebranding launch.
The company obtained shareholders’
approval for the new corporate identity earlier
this year. Duopharma Biotech, which is majority owned by
Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), is the largest Malaysian
pharmaceutical manufacturer and trading company.
Jalil Rasheed, President and Chief Executive of PNB,
officially launched the new corporate logo and name,
witnessed by Tan Sri Siti Sa’diah Binti Sh Bakir, Chairman
of Duopharma Biotech, as well as other board members,
including Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar, Group Managing
Director of Duopharma Biotech.
Updating its status
“Duopharma Biotech has been in the market for many
years, producing and supplying high quality prescription
drugs for both the public and private markets in Malaysia.
We also produce various consumer healthcare products
which are household names such as Flavettes, Champs,
Uphamol and Proviton, amongst others,” said Leonard.
“This rebranding initiative coincides with the imple-
mentation of a corporate growth strategy which includes
focusing on building a biosimilar portfolio of products start-
ing with erythropoietin (EPO), which was co-developed
with our partner PanGen Biotech, successfully registered
in Malaysia, as well as in South Korea,” he added.
As part of its growth strategy, Duopharma Biotech will
soon commence operations of a High Potent Active Phar-
maceutical Ingredient (HAPI) facility producing oncology
drugs for the Malaysian as well as regional markets.
Better accessibility to medication
“One of our key strategies is to ensure accessibility to
much needed cancer and other drugs. We have identi-
fied strong and proven technologies and partners
to collaborate in delivering these products to the
Onwards with
innovation
in healthcare
MINISTRY of Health Malaysia supports clinical research for
more innovative treatment options for Malaysians
The Ministry of Health aims to improve and provide better
healthcare in the country by supporting the clinical research
industry as well as in promoting participation in clinical trials.
patients,” Leonard further elaborated.
Mutual partnership
Also during the corporate rebranding launch, Duopharma
Biotech took the opportunity to further strengthen its
leadership in halal pharmaceuticals by signing a Memo-
randum of Understanding (MoU) wwith KPJ Healthcare
Berhad to collaborate and cooperate in exploring mutually
beneficial initiatives and awareness activities relating to
halal pharmaceuticals.
Under the MoU, both parties will work closely in mutual
areas of interest, and to facilitate each other in the area of
halal pharmaceuticals, specifically in promoting and creat-
ing awareness, to provide and establish clear guidelines
on prescribing halal pharmaceutical products, developing
expertise and resources in halal pharmaceuticals.
“This year marks a milestone for our halal journey as
this is the 20th anniversary of our achievement in receiv-
ing the first halal certification for our over-the-counter
(OTC) products from Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia
(JAKIM) back in 1999. We will continue to intensify our
focus on halal pharmaceuticals as we believe the demand
for such products is growing, and it also provides Duo-
pharma Biotech with a differentiated offering amongst
generics manufacturers. Our collaboration with KPJ
Healthcare Berhad signifies our intent towards this objec-
tive,” said Leonard.
“KPJ Healthcare Berhad is a well-known healthcare
provider in Malaysia and the region, and we feel proud to
collaborate with KPJ on this halal pharmaceuticals initia-
tive. I believe that there are synergies that both parties can
leverage on in the halal pharmaceuticals space.” he added.
The halal pharmaceutical industry globally is a multi-
billion-dollar industry with expenditures of US$75 billion
in 2017.It is expected to grow to an estimated US$132
billion by 2021. Malaysia is fast becoming recognised as
the leading global halal hub, as well as the global reference
and trade centre for the mainstream halal industry. — The
Health
Clinical trials which are largely funded by global
pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology
companies brings various innovative treatment
options to clinical trial participants.
Patients who participate in clinical trials receive
either a promising new treatment or the best avail-
able conventional treatment. Especially in the area
of cancer treatment, clinical trials have been proven
to offer some of the most effective cancer treatments
currently available today.
These clinical trials are often been misconstrued as
experimental testing on patients despite the significant
impact made on improving medical treatments. The
misconception continues with the public’s limited under-
standing due to the lack of exposure on clinical trials.
The Health Ministry seeks to correct these mis-