Shoring up medical security
Company eyeing growth prospects in the region amidst international tie-ups
NOT many in the pharmaceutical industry are looking at biosimilar medicine, but it is an area that Inno Bio Ventures Sdn Bhd (IBV) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat intends to build the company on.
“One thing about the biosimilar sector is that the developmental costs are very high and the private sector is not willing to put money into the development cost which would cover research and development (R&D),” says Rahman.
“It also involves risks and is a technology intensive sector,” he adds.
IBV, incorporated by the Ministry of Finance, specialises in the commercialisation of biotechnology or biosimilar products for national interest.
Biosimilars are medical products that are almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company.
Part of the company’s mission is to be one of the lead suppliers of biopharmaceutical products and services in the Asia-Pacific region. This would give it economies of scale and possibly lower the prices of drugs by about 30%-40%, which would help in the government’s cost-saving strategy.
He adds that one of the more important missions for IBV would be ensuring medical security for Malaysia.
“This business would involve a kind of drug security for the country as we cannot rely a 100% on imports,” he says.
However, it would need financial backing to grow before it can generate enough sales to be sustainable.
“Initially, we would need the government’s involvement. These are the initial investments that the country has to do, to see results for a capital, technological and research intensive sector,” Rahman says.
Among the previous government’s efforts was an additional injection of RM200mil for set-up and R&D costs.
IBV has also set up joint-ventures with University of Malaya and Korea’s Alteogen Inc to commercialise its R&D efforts.
“Malaysia is a part of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and we will take the opportunity to produce the drugs once the expiry dates for their patents occur,” he says.
Rahman adds that its tie-ups with other parties, particularly foreign companies, are also part of IBV’s plans to diversify its source of funding while its R&D developments, which rely on government financing, take time to stabilise.
Some of the companies it has partnered with are Aryogen, an Iranian biopharmaceutical manufacturer and Nobel Technologies, a Turkish company.
“We need at least 18 to 20 months for proceedings to mature. During that time, we would still need the government’s assistance, especially for the R&D development,” Rahman says.
IBV is slowly moving away from contract manufacturers to work more closely with its foreign companies to ensure a bigger scale for the procurement of ingredients and supply of drugs.
“The government has to ensure the supply of drugs and that it would be affordable for the public. By (IBV) supplying the government relatively cost-efficient drugs, the budget for the Ministry of Health would be reduced by 30%-40%. We will be contributing back to the government by ensuring cost-efficiency,” he says.
For now, IBV is concentrating its efforts on blood fractionation and developing a drug that would aid leukaemia and breast cancer patients, which is at the testing stage.
“We are also looking for the government’s support in extracting blood factors and using it in hospitals.
“At the moment, we are importing these services, and we intend to provide this to ensure the security of the factoring process.”
Rahman notes that these are still “work-in-progress” and would assist the country’s medical security.
However, he cites a lack in public exposure and the local talent pool as the group’s main concerns.
“We have a lot of graduates specialising in these sectors, and these efforts would give the country (an outlet for the influx) of local talent. Without talent and without proper R&D culture in this country, we wouldn’t appeal to multinational companies.”
“What IBV is doing is a mid-term solution. Two years would be needed for the developments (to mature) and we would be set to contribute back to the government and the public,” he says.
IBV will be hosting the Biosimilar Carnival 2018 on Oct 29-30 at Inno Biologics Biopharmaceutical Facility in Nilai. The two-day event will be held from 8am to 5pm and will be officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.