 With
considerable foresight, the Ministry of
Health in Malaysia promoted the formation of
Clinical Research Offices in all major
Malaysian Hospitals. These offices are
linked to the extensive registries of
disease which provide a most valuable
resource for clinical researchers wishing to
come to Malaysia. The Clinical Research
Centres of the Malaysian Health service are
directed by Dr Teck-Onn Lim – a nephrologist
by training, who was the driving force
behind the registry system. Dr Lim said that
‘ the development of a clinical research
facility in the Ampang Hospital is the first
move in a whole chain of activities intended
to place Malaysia in the forefront of early
Clinical Research in the ASEAN Area’
Veeda Clinical Research
was attracted to enter this highly
significant and ground breaking arrangement
with the Ministry of Health because of the
clear advantages of Malaysia as a place to
perform early clinical studies and the large
pool of talent within the population of
Malaysian physicians and scientists.
Additionally the huge drive provided by the
Malaysian Biotechcorp to attract both
service organisations and major
pharmaceutical players to Malaysia was a
significant factor in driving this
relationship.
The Director General of
Health Services, Tan Sri Dato’Seri Dr Haji
Mohd. Ismail bin Merican who is a
distinguished hepatologist commented…..’ In
our latest move up the research value chain,
we will develop facilities for early
clinical development studies locally to
raise Malaysia’s profile and credibility
amongst the policy makers of contract
research. It will be a steep learning curve
and to ensure that we will be able to face
the challenges ahead, we have carefully
selected partners such as Veeda Clinical
Research to enable knowledge transfer and
technology growth. We will be leveraging
upon our considerable infrastructure, strict
and robust regulatory environment, and
trained and experienced investigators to
position Malaysia as a preferred destination
for All Clinical Trials’
Dr Maurice Cross, Group
Medical Director of Veeda Clinical Research
observed that the opening of the Ampang Unit
towards the end of this year will be a huge
first for Malaysia. It will provide not only
a facility for the Global Pharmaceutical
Industry but will also be a major
contributor to the training of a cadre of
Malaysians capable of performing this type
of work and will also play its part in
attracting many Pharmaceutical companies to
look at Malaysia as a base in SE Asia. |
At
the recent National Conference for Clinical
Research held in Penang, Malaysia, Veeda
Clinical Research and the Malaysian Ministry
of Health announced the opening of Veeda’s
office in South East Asia and a
collaborative agreement with the Malaysian
Ministry Health to open a Phase I and Early
Clinical Development Unit in the Ampang
Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. The Unit, in one
of the hospital’s wards, provides a 28 bed
facility equipped to the highest standards
for Phase I studies and also Experimental
Medicine Studies in selected populations.
The unit will have initially 12 fully
monitored beds with telemetry and access to
the MUSE digital storage system for
electrocardiographic studies. 
