By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 4: A delegation from the Sarawak Biodiversity Council (SBC) concluded a three-day technical working visit to South Korea as part of efforts to strengthen collaboration and gather insights from South Korea’s thriving bioindustry sector, particularly the Songdo Bio Cluster, which is a cluster of world-leading biotech companies.
According to the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS), the delegation, led by Deputy Sarawak Secretary for Economic Planning and Development and council chairman, Dato Sri Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel, engaged with Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), Korean Ginseng Corporation (KGC), and Sartorius Korea LLC.
Discussions with IFEZ focused on knowledge sharing in the planning, development, and management of the cluster, an exercise aligned with SBC’s ambition of positioning Sarawak as Malaysia’s leading hub for the bioindustry through its Bioindustrial Park, while accelerating the commercialisation of products derived from the State’s rich biodiversity.
Over the past two decades, the IFEZ Authority has transformed the cluster into one of Asia’s foremost hubs for biopharmaceutical research and production, attracting global giants such as Samsung Biologics, Lotte Biologics, SK Bioscience, and Celltrion. It is home to over 140 local and international companies.
Meanwhile, at Korean Ginseng Corporation, the delegation was received by the chief of the research and development (R&D) headquarters, Dr Soon-Ki Hong, alongside a team of senior researchers and directors.
Established in 1999, KGC is a global leader in ginseng science, with over 130 researchers, 288 patents, and 16 registered ginseng varieties.
The engagement explored opportunities for co-developing Sarawak’s unique botanicals with Korean ginseng in the fields of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals.
The final leg of the visit was at Sartorius Korea LLC, where the delegation met with managing director Dr Kim Deok Sang.
Sartorius, a global leader in biopharmaceutical production, research, and process development, has invested around US$600 million in its Songdo facility.
Talks centred on potential collaboration in research and development, equipment placement, and enhancing manufacturing capacity for high-value biological products derived from Sarawak’s biodiversity.
Accompanying the delegation were permanent secretary to the Ministry of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development Sarawak and SBC deputy chairman, Adana Jed; Controller of Environmental Quality Sarawak, Datu Jack Liam; director of Agriculture, Dominic Chunggat; Tang Hung Huong, representing the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development Sarawak; Ivy Lim, representing the director of the Economic Planning Unit Sarawak; chief technical officer of Integrated Research Associates LLC, Dr; Mary Jane Cardosa; chief executive officer of SBC, Dato Dr Yeo Tiong Chia; and CEO of BioVerde Technologies Sdn Bhd, Hazwan Razak, a subsidiary of the SBC. — DayakDaily
