| Halal Health |
june-july, 2020 | The Health
19
UKM’s forte in halal
pharmaceutical research
The university has long contributed to the halal pharmaceutical
industry through research and collaborations
BY CAMILIA REZALI
Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia’s (UKM) forte in halal
pharmaceuticals lies in its
intensive research. Between
2017-19, it has secured close to
RM870,000 in various research
projects.
Professor Dato Dr Imran
Ho Abdullah, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of
Industry and Community Partnerships of
UKM said the strength of UKM came from
the comprehensive approach to research.
“It is done not only from one angle. It’s
also from the angle of social scientists
from the faculty of Islamic Studies. There
everyone can contribute towards the
promotion of not just awareness, but
also the whole ecosystem of the halal
pharmaceutical industry,” said Dr Imran.
“UKM had a food science programme
at the Faculty of Science and Technology.
They were the first to start instrumentally
by setting up what we now call the UKM
UNIPEQ. The laboratory was established in
2011.
“It was the first laboratory accredited as
a JAKIM halal panel lab since 2015. It’s been
catering to the demands of the industry
focussing on product self-monitoring.”
UKM has been working
with JAKIM on halal forensics
The Food Quality and Safety Research &
Development (UNIPEQ) is an accredited
training provider for halal executives and
also for halal internal audits. The centre has
trained close to 500 halal executives.
Apart from that, UNIPEQ also
received a Halal Industry Development
Corporation (HDC) Halal Science Research
Award (HSRA) in 2019 at the World Halal
Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Besides that, UKM has been working
with JAKIM on halal forensics and
DNA analysis. Related research on halal
pharmaceuticals is also sourced from its
Faculty of Pharmacy.
Through its UKM-Graduate School
of Business (UKM-GSB), UKM has also
worked very closely together with
Duopharma Biotech Berhad on various
research projects. One of it includes a
strategic collaboration between UKM and
Duopharma on the Halal Pharmaceutical
Business Initiatives (HPBI) research.
Earlier this year, UKM-GSB co-organised
the Halal Pharmaceutical Symposium
(HPS2020). The event saw about 300
participants from various sectors related to
the halal pharmaceutical industry.
Prof Imran said: “The Faculty of
Pharmacy has researchers like
Prof Dr Jamia Azdina Jamal, Dr Adliah
Mohd. Ali and Dr Mazlina Mohd Said, who
conducted studies among consumers,
patients, healthcare professionals. There
were similar studies with the general
public in terms of the understanding
of our current knowledge and attitude
towards this whole practice of halal
The Faculty of Pharmacy has
researchers like Prof Dr Jamia,
Dr Adliah and Dr Mazlina, who
conducted studies among
consumers, patients, healthcare
professionals. There were similar
studies with the general public in
terms of the understanding of our
current knowledge and attitude
towards this whole practice of halal
pharmaceuticals.”
pharmaceuticals.
“They have also been involved with the
development of the Malaysian Standards
for halal pharmaceuticals.”
In 2018, its research on tiger milk
mushroom nanoparticles to treat breast
cancer won the Special Award at the Tech
Plan Demo Day. The study was led by Assoc
Prof Dr Haliza, who is a lecturer at UKM’s
Faculty of Pharmacy.
The following year, UKM attained a Gold
Award- Fabrication of Halal based gelatin
sponge for future use as bioactive skin
template.
“As a research university, we are very
much into the research component. We
have been fortunate because there is
an initiative in the Ministry of Higher
Education, whereby we have two CEOs at
our faculty.
“One is Leonard Ariff, Group Managing
Director of Duopharma Biotech, and the
other Michaela Dinboeck, President and
Managing Director Novartis Corporation.”
Moving forward, Prof Imran believes
the synergy between academia and the
industry can be amplified. For that, there
will be a need to assemble people from the
government and industry players and work
towards a common goal.
UKM marked its 50 years Jubilee
celebration on May 18 and over the years
has grown vastly in the industry, winning
outstanding awards through numerous
researches and collaborations partly in the
field of halal pharmaceuticals.
Making a name in the halal
pharmaceutical industry has been one of
UKM’s most exceptional achievements.
The university is among the top 200
universities in the world. — The Health