BANGI: Bioegenes Technologies Sdn Bhd (Biogenes), a Malaysian-based company in the field of molecular diagnostics and genomics has signed a licensing agreement with Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL) to commercialise Aptamer technology.
Aptamer, a synthetic alternative to antibodies acts as molecular probes to detect and measure desired target molecules in a sample. This innovation is revolutionary and it may change the way the human body is monitored for clinical purposes as well as to check for pathogens and other contaminants in food and the environment.
“We are very pleased to announce this licensing agreement with IUKL, said Tang Kok Mun, Biogenes Chief Executive Officer during the signing ceremony at their office in IUKL here.
“The R&D venture between Bio- genes and IUKL has successfully developed a technique of using computational software to design these aptamers rapidly – ten times faster and cheaper than the conventional way.
“We believe that this partnership will further explore the diversity of applications of aptamers, said Tang.
Prof Dr Ideris Zakaria, President & Vice-Chancellor of IUKL said: “This is an example of the power of an industry and university collaboration, which allows both parties to rely on each other for their strengths.”
The signing ceremonies also saw the establishment of Technology Incubation Centre at IUKL.
Through this incubation centre, Biogenes is looking to incubate start-ups that would produce ground-breaking research and innovation that solves complex problems, drives economic growth and creates a more skilled workforce.
“We have put in place framework to ensure that the ecosystem is favourable to more partnerships, access to funds and ease of business networking,” he said.
“At this phase, the centre will only focus on aptamer research. In the future, we plan to have more players from different industries,” said Tang.
