AND NOR AIN MOHAMED RADHI
The Cambridge University together with Sunway Group and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation had recently signed several agreements that mark the 800-year-old university’s first such entry into Asia.
As part of the collaboration, Sunway Clinical Research Centre under Sunway Medical Centre will be a regional site partner of the Cambridge University of Clinical Medicine.
The clinical research centre was launched by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam held at Sunway University recently.
“Cambridge University’s decision to collaborate with us further testifies to Sunway’s commitment to excellence and to giving back to society.
“At Sunway, we are determined to raise standards in healthcare and education, providing the best possible to not just Malaysians, but the 630 million strong population of the Asean region.
“Making people’s lives better is fundamental to what we do here because we’re passionate about sustainable development,” said Sunway Group chairman Tan Sri Datuk Dr Jeffrey Cheah, who is also founding trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.
Cambridge University vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Toope said: “These agreements mark the beginning of a new stage in an exceptional partnership. Working together, we are poised to make a distinct contribution to some of the world’s major medical challenges.”
The Sunway Clinical Research Centre will help develop an integrated approach to healthcare, clinical trials and research in Malaysia aimed at prevention, earlier diagnosis and improved treatments for a range of disease entities that are suited to the Asian genetic composition.
The agreements also allow for Sunway Medical Centre to collaborate with the Cambridge University Health Partners such as Royal Papworth Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
An allocation of RM27.5 million will be set aside for projects and research arising from these collaborations for the next decade.
Earlier, Subramaniam opened the 2nd Cambridge-Oxford-Sunway Biomedical symposium, focusing on ‘Stem Cells: From Biology to Therapy. The symposium featured experts and thought leaders from leading research institutions in the United Kingdom and Australia who gathered to explore recent advances in stem cell research and to share this knowledge to enable the transformation of healthcare for the 21st century.
The two-day symposium brought 13 world-renowned experts who spoke on various topics related to current and emerging healthcare issues in Malaysia and Southeast Asia such as the rapid rise of diabetes, cancer and age-related illness.
The discussions covered recent developments and research into the potential of stem cell techniques and therapies.
Subramaniam commended Sunway Group’s commitment to democratising quality healthcare for Malaysians.
“One of the key focus areas of the ministry is to achieve universal access to quality healthcare. The symposium is an excellent example of Sunway Group’s corporate citizenship that will amplify the government’s efforts to enhance healthcare personnel capacity to increase accessibility and collaborate with the government in research and development,” he said.