KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) is targeting sales worth nearly RM400 million from the launch of five biotechnology products by BioNexus status companies and the Bio-Based Accelerator (BBA) within the next three years.
Its minister Chang Lih Kang said the launch of these five products would provide a significant boost to biotechnology companies, and he hopes that many more similar products will enter the market, thereby stimulating the economy.
"We hope more companies will collaborate with Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Sdn Bhd (Bioeconomy Corporation) and use the National Bioeconomy Exhibition and Conference 2024 (NBiO Showcase 2024) as a platform to expand access to both local and international markets," he said at the document exchange ceremony and product launch in conjunction with NBiO Showcase 2024 recently.
These five products include biofertilisers made from pulp manufacturing by-products by Nextgreen Global Bhd, isotonic prebiotic and probiotic coconut juice by Culvita, grain beverages with purple sweet potatoes and blueberries as well as freeze-dried fermented soybean powder by GoodMorning Global, and tablets containing extracts of three types of medicinal mushrooms by Ganofarm.
Chang said its ministry is confident that Malaysia is on the right track to achieve the goals of National Biotechnology Policy 2.0, which is to develop 30 per cent of BioNexus status companies at the global level and 70 per cent at the local level.
To date, he said 16 biotechnology companies have been listed on the stock exchanges of Malaysia, Taiwan, Nasdaq, Hong Kong, and Australia.
"With strong support from the MOSTI in collaboration with its agency, Bioeconomy Corporation, efforts will be intensified to realise the quintuple helix collaboration among biotechnology industry players, thereby helping more biotechnology companies achieve success both locally and internationally," he said.
Meanwhile, Bioeconomy Corporation chief executive officer Mohd Khairul Fidzal Abdul Razak said between January and May 2024, companies approved under the BBA programme, BioNexus status companies, and high-impact companies have generated a total revenue of RM1.5 billion.
Mohd Khairul said this demonstrates the high capability of Malaysian biotechnology companies to realise economic development through local and global markets.
"With the support of MOSTI, Bioeconomy Corporation will continue to take a proactive approach to help more biotechnology companies penetrate wider markets and achieve the goal of contributing RM2 billion in revenue to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2024," he added.