Malaysia to have own medical town with UKM’s ‘Health Technopolis’
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is poised to have its own medical town of international standard in the city with the completion of the ‘Health Technopolis’ project within the next 10 years, spearheaded by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
The project covers two sites at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM) at Bandar Tun Razak and Jalan Temerloh here, each located on a 24-hectare site.
HCTM currently houses two medical centres and one research institute – UKM Specialist Centre, Specialist Children’s Hospital, and Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI) – in addition to a medical and health campus as well as Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital located 1.5km away.
The UKM site at Jalan Temerloh also boasts of its UKM Audiology & Speech Science Clinic, which is strategically located as it is within close proximity to several renowned medical centres such as Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), National Blood Centre, National Heart Institute (IJN), KPJ Tawakkal Specialist Hospital and Institute for Respiratory Health as well as Kuala Lumpur Health Clinic (KKKL).
Inspired by renowned hubs
Sharing his insights on the ‘Health Technopolis, Executive Director of the National Economic Action Council (NEAC), Prime Minister’s Department, Prof Tan Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali, who mooted the idea in 2014 said, the planned development of UKM’s Health Technopolis is based on the key principles of enhancing the medical system’s capabilities and boosting economic growth.
The former UKM vice chancellor from 2014 to 2018 said he was inspired by his visits to such centres abroad such as the technopolis in Ankara, Turkey.
“During that time, I have just been appointed as UKM Vice Chancellor. After the visit, the idea was further developed to transform the university from its academic role of producing graduates to one that serves as the key agent of national economic growth by leveraging the varied expertise at the university.
“Based on the technopolis concept, physically all facilities should be within reach despite the fact that digital medical research and development (R&D) can be conducted via the virtual platform through collaboration with the corporate sector,” said the economic and financial expert.
He said this during a forum on ‘Medical Town spearheaded by the university: Dream or Reality’ organised by UKM at UMBI recently.
Another panelist, Senior Principal Research Fellow of UMBI Prof Datuk Dr A Rahman A Jamal said the medical town, to be developed in phases, will involve the relocation of its Health Science, Pharmaceutical and Dental faculties at Jalan Raja Muda campus in Kampung Baru to HTCM for the phase one.
“We are currently in the process of obtaining government approval for UKM to fully finance the Health Technopolis project,” he said, adding that the university will not seek government funding for the project.
Mayo clinic concept
He said UKM expects to see the medical town as a reference medical centre of excellence, capable of attracting local and foreign investment in medical technology innovations.
“We need to showcase Malaysia positively as a destination recognised for its technological and healthcare services particularly in attracting foreign investment, with the ‘health technopolis’ project becoming a reference icon, hence attracting more international biomedical scientists to carry out worldclass R&D here,” he said.
He said the concept is based on the world-acclaimed American Mayo Clinic, which specialises in treating rare and complex conditions, noting that UKM hopes to offer diverse expertise in the healthcare field by emulating the clinic, which carries a tagline ‘You know where to go’.
Headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, the United States, Mayo Clinic is a non-profit academic medical centre focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It specialises in treating difficult cases through tertiary care.
Dr A Rahman also cited the biopolis in Singapore, a R&D centre for biomedical sciences as an example, which has attracted foreign investors and is a key pillar of Singapore’s economy.
“Although Singapore’s biopolis plan is much later than us, they have managed to execute it ahead of us, attracting 50 companies undertaking R&D there, including established pharmaceutical firms, 60 manufacturers and more than 80 startup companies.
“However, we have the comparative advantage over our neighbours given our ethnic diversity based on clinical trials in diabetes and oncology, which are represented by three ethnic groups. We are among the top three among those attracting biotechnology companies to conduct such studies in the Asia Pacific,” he noted.
Dr A Rahman, who is also the Project Leader of ‘The Malaysian Cohort’, said to realise the medical town project, UKM has to identify existing talents and prepare them for training at prestigious universities while waiting for the project to be completed.
“As such, they will return as specialists and sources of reference for training of local talents and youth researchers as part of the ecosystem at the centre of excellence at UKM Health Technopolis,” he noted.
Increased investment
Meanwhile, former IJN Group Chief Executive Officer Prof Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub said the government and the private sector should enhance collaboration in the establishment of centres of excellence such as the UKM Health Technopolis.
This, he added, is because currently there is no iconic medical hub of its kind in Malaysia which can serve as a integrated reference centre for various treatment and research in diverse fields.
“In my personal opinion, Malaysian investment in medical facilities is still lacking as shown during the pandemic .... inadequate intensive care capacity and shortage of beds.
“The time has come for us to relook at the situation as a nation, with priority given to the healthcare system, not merely as a social responsibility, but also as an engine of economic growth for the country,” he added.
He said the centre of excellence augurs well for the health sector while serving as an icon in the nation’s health tourism.
“In Malaysia, we have Petronas Twin Towers as the pride of the nation, but till today, we have yet to have a medical tourism hub such as Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand and Bali International Hospital in Indonesia.
“Taking Bali medical tourism hub as an example, the Indonesian government has imposed travel restrictions on its citizens from seeking medical treatment abroad in a move that is expected to generate savings of US$7 billion (RM29.3 billion) annually,” he said.