A high-level delegation from Malaysia recently visited City St George’s to strengthen research ties and build upon the existing collaborative initiatives in affordable diagnostics.
Published
Dr Sionade Robinson, Dr Yolanda Augustin and Emeritus Professor Sanjeev Krishna welcomed the delegation, which included YBhg. Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, Director General of the Malaysia Ministry of Health in Malaysia, Dr Akhmal Yusof, Chief Executive Officer at Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM), Jean-Michel Piedagnel, Lead of the South-South Diagnostics Alliance, and Professor Ivy Chung, Affordable Diagnostics and Therapeutics Research Group Lead at Universiti Malaya.
The visit came in celebration of two new grants between City St George’s and the Malaysian Ministry of Health to develop affordable solutions for diagnostics and therapeutics to transform healthcare access in Malaysia.
Accelerating diagnostics for dengue
Initial discussions focused on a £2.5 million grant awarded by the Malaysian Government, in collaboration with the Universiti Malaya and Clinical Research Malaysia as part of the International Affordable Diagnostics and Therapeutics Alliance (IA-DATA).
IA-DATA aims to establish Malaysia as a diagnostic development and manufacturing hub for accurate and affordable point of care diagnostics and pandemic preparedness for Malaysia, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Islamic Development Bank linked countries in the Global South. It will build an ASEAN-wide network for clinical validation studies for diagnostics, as part of CRM’s vision to scale-up clinical trials for regional prosperity.
City St George’s and Universiti Malaya will work with the Malaysian Ministry of Health to develop point-of-care tests for neglected diseases such as dengue, monkey malaria, melioidosis and leptospirosis with industry partners and tech transfer of these tests for low volume manufacturing in Malaysia. The consortium will also develop a point-of-care biomarker for severe dengue and a predictive tool to assist in the management of dengue in rural, low-resource and primary care settings.
Speaking on the project, Professor Sanjeev Krishna, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Molecular Parasitology, said:
Sharing best practice
The longstanding international relationship has also fuelled an International Science Partnerships Fund grant of £80,000 to Dr Henry Staines from the British Council. The grant will enable Dr Staines to provide knowledge exchange to colleagues at Universiti Malaya on developing affordable diagnostics.
By sharing best practice, he will support them in their mission to create a research centre that will focus on establishing academic-industry partnerships to accelerate the development, commercialisation and adoption of regionally important diagnostics and therapeutics.
As part of this work, Dr Staines and his team will undertake a workshop to provide information on developing clinical protocols for the evaluation of diagnostic tests, and bolster networking opportunities to bring together UK and Malaysian partners across different sectors.
Dr Henry Staines, Senior Lecturer in Global Health and project co-lead, said: