Duopharma Biotech Berhad has recently inked Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with two prominent international entities, Centre for Affordable Diagnostics & Therapeutics Limited (CADT) from the UK and PAMOJA Therapeutics BV from the Netherlands. These collaborations are aimed at conducting drug repurposing research, with a focus on manufacturing Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) for clinical trials in Malaysia, followed by commercialisation.
Duopharma Biotech Berhad, Group Managing Director, Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar, expressed delight at the potential collaboration, emphasising the importance of exploring new uses and indications for existing pharmaceutical products. He highlighted the company’s vision of providing smarter solutions for a healthier life and reiterated their commitment to improving access to healthcare through research and innovation.
CADT, a social enterprise dedicated to facilitating research and development pipelines for affordable diagnostics and therapeutics, is focused on developing novel therapeutics for infectious diseases and cancer.
The organisation plays a crucial role in accelerating collaborations between international entities and the Malaysian ecosystem, with a particular emphasis on affordable point-of-care diagnostics, drug repurposing, and cancer immunotherapies.
CADT Director, Professor Sanjeev Krishna, emphasised the importance of affordable solutions for managing illnesses like dengue and treating cancers, underscoring CADT’s mission to deliver such solutions through partnerships developed in Malaysia.
PAMOJA Therapeutics BV, on the other hand, specialises in the development, partnering, and commercialisation of an artesunate product portfolio. The company focuses on offering generic formulations of artesunate and is actively involved in developing oral combination therapy and intravenous administration of artesunate for malaria treatment.
The collaboration between Duopharma Biotech and PAMOJA aims to explore collaborations in manufacturing pharmaceutical products for repurposing, specifically focusing on artesunate. This partnership holds the potential to pave the way for affordable cancer therapy solutions.
PAMOJA Therapeutics BV, Director, Hans Platteeuw, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration with Duopharma Biotech, highlighting the potential of artesunate as a game-changer in affordable cancer therapy.
These collaborations underscore the growing emphasis on research and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on addressing global health challenges and improving access to healthcare solutions.
