[GENERAL BIOTECH] Malaysia Stamps Its Mark at Biotech Conference In the US

WASHINGTON: Malaysia has made its presence felt at the BIO International Convention (BIO Washington DC) - the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, which ended yesterday.

Besides BIO Washington DC being opened by Deputy Prime Minister Tan sri Muhyiddin Yassin (the first country leader given the honour to open the annual event), Muhyiddin and Biotechnology International Organisation (BIO) president Jim Greenwood announced the co-organisation of the BioMalaysia 2011 Conference and Exhibition and the2011 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. The two events will be held concurrently at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from Nov 21 to 23.

Picture: 2011 BIO International Conference in the US (Source: http://www.fdalawyersblog.com/assets_c/2011/06/bio2011-thumb-300x252-21856.jpg)

BIO executive vice-president Brent Erickson told reporters that Malaysia was seen as a leader in Asia in developing innovation policy, fostering novel funding mechanisms to attract technology to the country, and having a huge biomass resource.

The Pacific Rim Summit will focus on industrial biotechnology, which he saw as the newest and most exciting wave of biotechnology innovation. It will be the first time the Pacific Rim Summit is brought outside the United States.

Malaysian Bio-XCell Sdn Bhd and its parent Malaysian Biotechnology Corp attracted 40 one-on-one meetings with potential investors and partners at the convention.

Bio-XCell chief executive officer Raja Ridzwa Raja Abdul Aziz told Malaysian reporters during a wrap-up briefing session that the majority of them were from the United States, Europe and South Asia.

“Their interests are in contract/clinical research, drug discovery and nutraceuticals,” he said.

Four agreements were signed at BIO Washington DC worth nearly RM1bil in potential investments over the next three years that would enhance Malaysia's biotechnology ecosystem.

Malaysia's strategy in biotechnology hinges on collaboration and promoting Malaysia as a regional hub for the Asean region, which not only provides a huge market for biotechnology players but also a large quantity of biomass feedstock for their manufacturing processes.

BiotechCorp chief operating officer Dr Wan Abdul Rahaman Wan Yaacob sees Singapore as playing a complementary role to Malaysia. The biotechnology research and development activities by multinational companies in Singapore can translate into commercialisation in Malaysia as Singapore has limited resources such as land, he said.

According to Ridzwa, Bio-XCell's biotechnology park in Iskandar Malaysia allows for the production process itself to be environmentally friendly, with renewable energy and steam produced by biomass.

“The foreign investors are looking for the concept of green being from end to end (in the production process) and they're not stopping at feedstock,” he added.

Wan Rahaman said Malaysia could be “greener” than other neighbouring countries.

Source: The Star Online

[GENERAL BIOTECH] Muhyiddin Promosi Industri Bioteknologi Malaysia

WASHINGTON: The visit by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to the United States, which concluded on Wednesday, has further strengthened bilateral relations and elevated Malaysia's standing in the global biotechnology arena.

In addition to promoting Malaysia's biotechnology industry, the Deputy Prime Minister's visit was filled with meetings with senior U.S. administration officials and investors.

Describing his visit as a success, Muhyiddin noted that several advancements in Kuala Lumpur-Washington relations were achieved through the discussions held.

"We were able to emphasize the importance of our relationship in various fields such as education, defense, security, and others, and highlight the need to further enhance these ties," he said.

Senior U.S. officials from the State Department, National Security Council, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense met with Muhyiddin at a breakfast meeting.

In this informal meeting, they discussed issues such as Malaysia's humanitarian contributions to Afghanistan, the English Teaching Assistance program where American teachers help teach English in Malaysia, and visa facilities for Malaysians visiting the United States.

During the meeting, Muhyiddin was informed that the U.S. administration considers Malaysia-U.S. relations to be at their best, especially under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Muhyiddin also engaged in dialogue with representatives from selected local think tanks, where bilateral, regional, and international issues were discussed.

"They provided their views and asked questions. I explained our international policies and Malaysia's stance on issues concerning the Middle East, ASEAN, our relationship with China, and others. They seemed satisfied with my explanations.

"Such participation is very beneficial, and they have begun to understand Malaysia better than before. They see the importance of Malaysia as a country that can contribute to the United States and in an international context," Muhyiddin said.

He also met with several American business leaders, including investors in Malaysia, at an event organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council.

These leaders included representatives from Intel, Qualcomm, Honeywell, Citi Group, AT&T, Ace Group, and Conoco.

"The business council expressed satisfaction with Malaysia's treatment of companies based in the country. Not a single complaint was raised to me," he said.

Muhyiddin attended the BIO International Convention and was honored to inaugurate the exhibition alongside Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and BIO CEO James Greenwood, making him the first foreign leader invited to do so.

He also attended the launch event for BioMalaysia 2011 and the 2011 Pacific Rim Summit on Biotechnology and Bioenergy, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in November.

This marks the first time the Pacific Rim Summit is being held outside the United States since its inception.

"This is a positive development as we host the event. We can expand our network of cooperation with American companies, organizers, and other parties," he said.

Muhyiddin described his presence at the BIO International Convention as a testament to the Malaysian government's strong focus on science and technology.

He also visited the University of Maryland to explore potential collaborations between Malaysia and the university, particularly in the field of agro-biotechnology research and development.

Identified areas of collaboration include vaccine production for avian influenza and Newcastle Disease.

News source: BERNAMA

[GENERAL BIOTECH] Knows Your DNA, Its REALLY Interesting!

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA — is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms (with the exception of RNA viruses). The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, like a recipe or a code, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information. Along with RNA and proteins, DNA is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life.  

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA)

Picture: Moving DNA structure (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ADN_animation.gif)

Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was one of the great feats of exploration in history - an inward voyage of discovery rather than an outward exploration of the planet or the cosmos; an international research effort to sequence and map all of the genes - together known as the genome - of members of our species, Homo sapiens. Completed in April 2003, the HGP gave us the ability to, for the first time, to read nature's complete genetic blueprint for building a human being.  

(Source: http://www.genome.gov/10001772)

Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. During the early years of the HGP, the Wellcome Trust (U.K.) became a major partner; additional contributions came from Japan, France, Germany, China, and others. See our history page for more information.

Project goals were to

• identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,
• determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,
• store this information in databases,
• improve tools for data analysis,
• transfer related technologies to the private sector, and
• address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.

Though the HGP is finished, analyses of the data will continue for many years. Follow this ongoing research on our Milestones page. An important feature of the HGP project was the federal government's long-standing dedication to the transfer of technology to the private sector. By licensing technologies to private companies and awarding grants for innovative research, the project catalyzed the multibillion-dollar U.S. biotechnology industry and fostered the development of new medical applications.  

(Source: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml)

Watch video below to understand more... it would be very interesting to know about yourself!

And this video is about the Human Genome Project too.. enjoy it :-)

Video: Human Genome Project (Copyright to HHMI)

[GENERAL BIOTECH] Check Out This Nice Video On DNA Sequencing

Check Out This Nice Video On DNA Sequencing!

Video: Sanger's DNA Sequencing (Source: Copyright to HHMI)

This is a video attached with yesterday's lecturer, which is regarding the Sanger's Method of DNA Sequencing. This technique is used frequently nowadays in many biotech labs, however, the discovery of new technique for sequencing DNA might replace this technique.

Source: Lecturer 4, BTEC201 Victoria University of Wellington

[INDUSTRIAL BIOTECH] Industrial Biotechnology to Enhance Biotech Sector in Malaysia

Write-up by Shushmul Maheshwari

According to our new investigation report “Emerging Biotech Sector in Malaysia”, Malaysia has witnessed an emergence of powerful interest in biotech sector considering that the adoption of National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) and had effectively recognized the industry as 1 of the key economy drivers. Driven by factors like, powerful R&ampD base, excellent government support, active private sector participation, and high investments, the Malaysian biotech market reached to the mark of US$ 180 Million in 2009 and is likely to grow at the CAGR of about 16% during 2010-2012.

Picture: Emerging Biotech Sector in Malaysia by RNCOS (Source: http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM234.htm)

 Our report has located that the industrial biotech sector is likely to contribute a main share of domestic biotechnology market place. In 2009, total revenue of BioNexus status businesses operating in industrial biotech sector reached to the mark of US$ 111 Million, which was an improve of around 35% over 2008. The segment delivers immense potential mainly due to the fact that Malaysia has a presence of huge species varieties coupled with excellent investment patterns.

The report “Emerging Biotech Sector in Malaysia” covers all the key aspects of biotechnology market and supplies present trends and reliable statistics on each of the 3 segments namely agricultural biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, and healthcare biotechnology. In every of the segments, information and analysis concerning revenue, industry players, patents scenario and so on. have been provided. The report also covers key market attractions that seek to illustrate key growth drivers of the Malaysian biotech market.

The report is an outcome of an in-depth analysis and objective analysis of the Malaysian biotech sector. It identifies and illustrates key growth drivers and trends of the business and offers brief overview of the government role. The government has been an active player of the market and as a result, the report describes key public sector methods and their impact on sector performance. Future outlook till 2012 has been provided, which makes use of dependable forecasting methods and techniques. Last but not the least, key industry players have also been covered in the report.

For No cost SAMPLE of this report go to: http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM234.htm

[REPORT CONTENT]:

Malaysia has effectively witnessed an upsurge in the profitability and development of the domestic biotechnology industry. Malaysian biotech market has been growing at the double digit rate for the past few years on the back of factors, such as rich biodiversity, active participation by the government and private players, high investments, and technological up-gradation. According to our new research report “Emerging Biotech Sector in Malaysia”, the biotech market in Malaysia reached to the mark of RM 663 Million (US$ 212 Million) in 2010 and is likely to grow at the CAGR of around 16% to reach RM 885 Million (US$ 283 Million) by 2012.

We have covered the key segments of biotechnology industry in Malaysia namely healthcare biotech, agriculture biotech, and industrial biotech. These segments are the focus areas of both the government and private market players. Under National Biotechnology Program, the authorities have extensively planned out various strategies and goals regarding each of these segments and positive developments are likely to boost revenue patterns in future.

Our report has found that agricultural biotechnology holds immense growth potential mainly due to the fact that new innovations and technological up-gradations are providing numerous advantages to this area. Marine biotechnology and crop-related biotechnology are being considered as the future growth areas. In the healthcare biotechnology segments, there are various sub-segments that are likely to witness high investments, such as contract manufacturing, CRO, drug discovery among others. The country offers a supportive environment for the global healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to build their operation. Besides, ‘BioNexus’ status provides many benefits to biotech companies.

Overall, the report analyzes all the key aspects of the Malaysian biotech industry and studies current trends and their impacts on different segments of the industry. The report also provides statistical data and an effective analysis of the macroeconomic factors, market restraints, and challenges. It also describes the role of government and regulatory mechanisms concerning industry and covers key industry players that will help clients to plan market strategies and assess areas of opportunity in the Malaysian biotech market.

Source: 

http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM234.htm

http://thebiotechdictionary.com/industrial-biotechnology-to-enhance-biotech-sector-in-malaysia