[This is a sponsored article with Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI).]
What if Malaysian farmers may earn hundreds extra per harvest by utilizing aquaculture biotech? Or what if native labs may fast-track new well being improvements into the market?
These potentialities may very well be nearer than we predict.
On September 25, MRANTI’s Nationwide Expertise and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) formally launched the Biotechnology Sandbox Pilot Programme (Biotech Sandbox) in collaboration with the Nationwide Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia (NIBM).
It’s a devoted platform for innovators to check and scale options that may then flip into commercially viable merchandise that strengthen meals safety, enhance healthcare, and drive sustainability.
Enjoyable reality: NIBM performs a central function in implementing and validating pilot initiatives beneath the sandbox. Its services allow innovators to conduct real-world testing in managed environments, guaranteeing every resolution meets regulatory and industrial readiness requirements.
The launch was officiated on behalf of the Minister of Science, Expertise and Innovation (MOSTI) by YBrs. Boniface anak Edwin Manung, Division Secretary of MOSTI.
Right here’s how the Biotech Sandbox helps Malaysian innovators make that leap from lab to market.
Turning analysis into real-world options
Because the identify suggests, the Biotech Sandbox is a managed surroundings the place biotech improvements might be examined, validated, and scaled with the help of superior services and experience.
That is significantly efficient in expediting biotechnology commercialisation as a result of it typically requires regulatory intervention. Why? For the straightforward motive that biotech immediately impacts public well being, meals security, and the surroundings.
It’s meant to hurry up the journey from analysis to adoption, particularly on biotech options in 4 key industries. In its first part, it will likely be specializing in agriculture, adopted by healthcare, environmental sustainability, and industrial biotechnology.
By anchoring to those priorities, the Biotech Sandbox aligns carefully with the National Biotechnology Policy 2.0 (DBN 2.0) to sort out a number of the nation’s most urgent challenges.
Take meals safety, as an example. With rising demand and local weather strain, progressive agritech like Recirculating Aquaculture Techniques (RAS) and AI integration in farming can assist farmers earn extra whereas lowering reliance on imports.
“RAS can generate RM35,000 per cycle for farmers, whereas AI integration can increase productiveness by 30% and scale back working prices by 20%,” stated Prof. Dr. Rofina Yasmin Othman, Chairman of MRANTI.
In agriculture and healthcare, labs typically wrestle to transfer their discoveries past analysis papers. With the Biotech Sandbox, improvements in tissue tradition, herbal-based remedies, genomics and the like might be examined and validated beneath real-world situations. This opens doorways for sooner adoption in hospitals and clinics.
And in the case of environmental sustainability, biotech options like seaweed innovation and round bioeconomy functions may play a key function in lowering waste and creating greener merchandise.
All of those are anchored by the services and experience of NIBM, which affords specialised capabilities in aquaculture, tissue tradition, and natural greenhouse applied sciences.
Backing innovators with a full help system
What’s extra, the Biotech Sandbox connects innovators to the opposite secretariats and funding companions inside the NTIS ecosystem, together with:
- MRANTI, as lead secretariat for NTIS, affords end-to-end facilitation
- MIMOS, affords experience in technical assessments
- Futurise, helps by way of its regulatory facilitation
- MTDC, gives funding and strengthens the commercialisation and funding pipeline
This community ensures concepts aren’t left stranded on the prototype stage, and as an alternative ready to be market-ready.
In different phrases, the programme offers researchers, startups, SMEs, and entrepreneurs engaged on biotech options a pathway to deliver their concepts past the lab and into real-world functions.
Since its inception in 2020, NTIS has supported over 220 initiatives, helped commercialise greater than 80 applied sciences price RM163.17 million.
Oh, did we additionally point out that it enabled 9 Malaysian improvements to be exported globally with a price of RM115 million?
The Biotech Sandbox builds on this momentum by focusing particularly on biotechnology as a driver of development and resilience.
As Malaysia seems to be to strengthen meals safety, healthcare, and sustainability, such programmes make sure that innovators have the mandatory help of their journey.
Greater than only a platform, it’s a neighborhood driving Malaysia’s biotech future ahead. To be part of the neighborhood, you possibly can register your curiosity here.
- Study extra concerning the Biotechnology Sandbox Pilot Programme here.
- Learn articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Picture Credit score: MRANTI
