KUALA LUMPUR: The 17-18 July National Bioeconomy Showcase (NBiOSHOWCASE) 2024 saw 15 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed with an estimated value of RM1.55 billion.
Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Sdn Bhd (Bioeconomy Corporation) Chief Executive Officer Mohd Khairul Fidzal Abdul Razak said the company targeted 11 MoUs but the number rose to 15.
“These 2 days saw several collaborations between various companies involving product sales, research and development with universities, the market and fund services for companies,” he said.
He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had several MoUs being signed yesterday followed by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang.
4 MoUs involve foreign companies from Singapore, Kazakhstan, Japan and Indonesia.
The MoUs were between ALPS Global Holding Bhd and PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Mirxes Pte Ltd; Bioeconomy Corp and the Malaysian Cooperative Commission; Bioeconomy Corp and the People’s Trust Council (MARA); Bioeconomy Corp and Invest Selangor; Bioeconomy Corp and ALPS Global Holding Bhd; IBG Manufacturing Sdn Bhd and Xiamen University Malaysia, ATL Cosmetics Sdn Bhd and UM Pharmauji Sdn Bhd and Bioloop Sdn Bhd and 99 Speed Mart Sdn Bhd.
In addition, MoUs were also signed between Bioeconomy Corp and Medkad Sdn Bhd; Bioeconomy Corp and Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF); YHL Foods Sdn Bhd and Wermtech Asia Pte Ltd; Bio Tree Pharmaceutical (int) Sdn Bhd and Nomatech Sdn Bhd; Dunita Sdn Bhd and Kz International Pte Ltd; and ALPS Global Holding and Saraya Co Ltd from Japan.
Khairul said NBioSHOWCASE 2024 also saw ALPS Global Holding Bhd, an integrated biotechnology company facilitated by Bioeconomy Corp become the first Malaysian biotechnology company to achieve unicorn status.
The achievement fulfils one of the main goals of the National Biotechnology Policy 2.0 which aims to create three bio-innovation companies with unicorn status by 2030.
ALPS Global is a biotechnology company that develops precision medicine through genomic DNA technology, mRNA and cellular therapy is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq in the fourth quarter of 2024 with an enterprise value of about US$1.6 billion.
NBiOSHOWCASE 2024 is organised by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) and Bioeconomy Corp as the main organiser.
MOSTI is targeting a sales value of almost RM400 million from the launch of 5 biotechnology products by BioNexus and Bio-Based Accelerator (BBA) status companies in the next 3 years.
“There are also many programmes provided at NBiOSHOWCASE 2024 involving primary schools up to university. We also had a walk-in interview for 100 positions for students to apply for while the portal had 500.
“The positions are diverse, starting from economists, scientific researchers and marketing executives. The positions call for students with a biotech background,” Khairul said.
Themed ‘Bioeconomy for All’, the NBiOSHOWCASE 2024 conference and exhibition involved more than 100 exhibitors and attracted about 4,000 visitors.
— BERNAMA
