Biotech Corp, California group in tie-up

BiotechCorp and the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences will set up a QB3 satellite programme in Malaysia



MALAYSIAN Biotechnology Corp (BiotechCorp) and the California Institute
for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) will work together to set up a QB3
satellite programme in Malaysia in a bid to produce more entrepreneurs
in the budding biotechnology industry.

The
move underscores the country’s commitment to develop the industry,
having identified it as a new engine of growth for the economy, back in
2005.

QB3 is a consortium of more than 200 labs from the University
of California’s campuses that boast top researchers and facilities as well as entrepreneurial resources.

Its collaboration with Biotech-Corp will see it providing specialised technology training that could help local

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biotech researchers in commercialising their products.

The
two parties exchanged documents at a symposium held in conjunction with
the 2012 Bio International Convention (BIO) that began here on Monday.

This
is one of five agreements that Biotech-Corp, the lead agency
responsible for developing Malaysia’s biotechnology industry, is set to
ink at the four-day convention.

“This collaboration will
initiate a positive transfer of knowledge from QB3’s researchers to our
researchers that will branch off into streams of knowledge to students,
academicians, entrepreneurs and interested parties that will eventually
contribute
towards a biotechnology-driven economy as we move towards becoming a
highincome nation,” BiotechCorp’s chief executive officer Datuk Mohd
Nazlee Kamal said at the event.

The event was witnessed by
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili,
who led an 80-member Malaysian delegation to BIO, the world’s largest
gathering of biotechnology experts and policymakers.

This marks the eighth year that Malaysia is participating in
the annual event.

“As Malaysia moves further into the second phase of its National
Biotechnology Policy – turning science to business – we welcome
initiatives that would accelerate the commercialisation of our
biotechnology companies where the industry is expected to undergo an
ultimate test of viability as it embarks upon efforts to intensify the
business appeal of all the initiatives,” Ongkili said.

The
government is targeting for the industry to account for five per cent
of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020 and create 300,000 jobs.

It now accounts for nearly 2.3 per cent of the country's GDP and has
created more than 40,000 jobs since 2006, said officials at BiotechCorp.

"We hope to create more jobs by collaborating with QB3," said Mohd Nazlee.

To date, BiotechCorp has granted BioNexus status to 215 companies, of
which 67 are in the healthcare sector and five - including PureCircle
and Holista Biotech - are listed on local or foreign stock exchanges.

Companies with BioNexus-status enjoy incentives such as tax breaks,
freedom to source funds globally and freedom of ownership, among other
things.

BiotechCorp is an agency under the purview of Ministry
of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and is owned by the
Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

BiotechCorp is responsible for executing the objectives of the National Biotechnology Policy (NBP).