AJB inks pact with Pakistan’s provincial govt
KUALA LUMPUR: AJ Biologics Malaysia (AJB) has inked a collaboration with the government of Kybher Pakhtunkwa (KP), Pakistan, to help manage and contain the current dengue outbreak within the northwestern Pakistani province.
The country’s first vaccine manufacturer said the agreement would see the KP government invest in a Dengue Advisory Board, which utilised AJB’s expertise and capabilities to create a programme focused on containment, education, treatment protocols and training to combat the country’s current dengue outbreak.
AJ Vaccine group chairman Dr Tabassum Khan said the company had been successful in combating and containing the repeated outbreaks, while Malaysia had one of the best dengue surveillance capabilities in Southeast Asia.
“Therefore, we are pleased to offer AJB’s experience and expertise to healthcare professionals in Pakistan as we eventually look at the prevention and complete eradication of dengue,” he said in a statement.
He said the collaboration was a critical effort in addressing the situation.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by the government of KP secretary for Industries, Commerce and Technical Education Farah Hamid and AJ Biologics chief operating officer Jerome Cabannes, witnessed by Hassan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company chief strategy and business planning N. Ansari, Tabassum, as well as representatives from AJ Biologics — head of medical and regulatory affairs Dr Bhupinder Singh and head of corporate communications Hannah Nawi.
AJB, through the advisory board, will also develop training programmes, including understanding modes of dengue transmission, identifying the clinical manifestations of the four different dengue serotypes, as well as providing accurate diagnosis and subsequent clinical management of the disease.
The board will comprise Tabassum, Jerome, Dr Mobashir Ahmed Bhatti, RMP consultant and clinical/preventive nutritional medicine member of the National Commission for Human Development, Pakistan and two Malaysian independent researchers with globally renowned credentials in dengue management and emerging diseases.
Farah said dengue was a relatively new occurrence in KP and the recent outbreak in the region was something they had not anticipated.
“The KP government has focused a lot of resources in public education and raising awareness on the disease. The partnership with AJB is a strategic investment on our part to amplify our existing efforts by improving our medical and technical knowledge in managing the disease,” she said.
Following the agreement, Malaysian delegates from the advisory board will conduct a site visit and fact-finding mission to Pakistan to come up with their recommendations.
The agreement with the KP government also includes a tuberculosis screening programme in the near future, in an effort to prevent and manage tuberculosis, a disease with a high prevalence within the Indian subcontinent.