Symposium to feature biomedicine

Sun2Surf: PETALING JAYA: It became a byword only in recent years, but the term, "biotechnology" is as old as the turn of the century.
A Hungarian engineer, Karl Ereky, coined the term in 1919 when he envisioned a biochemical age similar to the stone and iron ages.
With the whole world now embroiled in a major biological revolution ? a much-awaited symposium on this engine of growth is coming to town.
The symposium, largely featuring medical biotechnology will be held in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and will host seven prominent speakers.
Chaired by Prof Choong-Chin Liew, director of cardiovascular genome unit, Harvard Medical School, Boston, the symposium is organised by Nantah Education and Research Foundation (NERF) and Chondrogene Ltd Toronto, Canada.
Speaking to theSun recently, organising committee chairman Tan Sri Law Hieng Ding said the event is a "very rare occasion" that will lend a preview of new opportunities for entrepreneurs, bankers, scientists and researchers in the country.
He said the symposium would also feature new advances in medical biotechnology, especially on the lately launched innovations in colorectal cancers and inflammatory diseases.
Law said the nation's biotechnology sector generated a mere US$40 million (RM150 million) and this compares unfavourably with neighbouring countries like Singapore, South Korea and India.
"With a very rich biodiversity in hand, there is a need for us in Malaysia to take advantage of the available resources and nurture a major engine of growth by advancing the biotechnological sciences," said Law who is also deputy president of NERF.
He said Malaysia is blessed with a vast potential for the development and expansion of the biotechnology industry as the nation is one of the world's 12 mega biodiversity centres.
Malaysia's endorsement of biotechnology as the new economic engine was outlined in its National Biotechnology Policy launched last April.
The one-day symposium will be held in Kuala Lumpur on March 28 and in Penang on March 30.
For details, call 03-2148 3053, 032148 2501 or email nantah@po.jaring.my