BIOGENES TECHNOLOGIES (BIOGENES) has successfully completed the acquisition of Allen Healthcare Products Sdn Bhd (AHP) – a Penang-based, ISO 13485 accredited pioneer of rapid test kit manufacturing.
Biogenes chief executive officer, Tang Kok Mun said: “The opportunity for acquisition presented itself as we were actively seeking manufacturing facilities to upscale Biogenes-developed aptamer-based diagnostic test kits.”
According to Tang : “The acquisition of AHP provides the means for Biogenes to penetrate the Southeast Asian market, increasing Biogenes production capacity to 10 million test kits annually.
Tang also said the acquisition of AHP is a strategic move aimed at expanding Biogenes’s capacity to commercialise homegrown research projects.
AHP was first established in Seberang Prai in 1996. The company was founded by Penang-born Michael H’ng and his Taiwanese partner Dr Allen Fan. With their leadership, AHP has grown into a 10,000 square foot facility. The current facility is efficiently designed to enable the production of rapid test kits in a wide range of applications, including infectious diseases, women’s health and drug of abuse.
AHP currently 16 different types of drugs of abuse testing gadgets, fertility testing such as pregnancy and ovulation test kits and rapid test kits for infectious disease such as HIV 1 & 2, Syphilis, Hepatitis B surface antigen test, HCV, Malaria Pv/Pf, Dengue NS1 and Dengue IgG/IgM tests. These test kits are currently distributed to local pharmacies, government agencies, and factories that test for drug abuse in their workers.
Reminiscing on the early beginning of Biogenes, chief commercial officer, Adrian Joseph said the company initially began as a developer of molecular diagnostic kits in 2015.
“Eventually Biogenes diversified its capabilities into the development of aptamer-based diagnostic kits. Aptamers are synthetic antibodies that serve as alternatives to antibodies derived from animals.
“The acquisition of AHP is a new milestone for us to propel into commercialisation as we have nearly concluded the research to develop aptamer-based detection kit for sepsis and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer,” he added.
Adrian said plans are also underway to leverage Biogenes’ expertise in aptamer-based diagnostic kits, to integrate aptamers into the test kits developed by AHP.
Adrian also affirmed that, despite expanding the business, Biogenes also sees manufacturing local diagnostic test kits as a significant initiative to fortify health security within the country and reduce the burden on healthcare facilities.
“We recently attended meetings with both the Medical Devices Authority (MDA) & the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI).
“MDA & MITI are working to develop Malaysia as a medical device manufacturing hub for the Southeast Asian region. Biogenes wants to help Malaysia achieve that vision,” said Adrian.
“Currently the Biogenes sepsis detection kits are expected to be manufactured in this new facility next year. We are looking forward to the new year with other exciting projects such as studying rice disease in collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI),” added Tang.
