THE Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) is undertaking efforts to commercialise its biodiversity-based products.
Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said the approach involves a progression of registering end products that have traditional claims, to scientifically validated modern health claims and subsequently as pharmaceutical applications.
“As a start, SBC is targeting four monographs of local species.
“Monographs are detailed scientific documents that describe the species characteristics, their traditional uses, preparation methods, phytochemical information, pharmacological as well as safety and toxicity of the species.
“These are important references for registering a product,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today (May 26).
With the monographs, Sagah said SBC will register the species as natural products with traditional claims with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) by November.
“If successfully commercialised, these will result in benefit sharing with the communities,” he said.
On another development, he said the Sarawak Research and Development Council (SRDC) has allocated a total of RM6.7 million to further strengthen the research and development ecosystem in Sarawak.
“Of this, RM5.9 million has been allocated to advancing research in strategic areas, particularly renewable energy, focusing on hydrogen, solar, and wave technologies.
“These efforts are in line with Sarawak’s development priorities and our commitment to sustainable innovation,” he said.
He added the remaining RM800,000 has been channeled to support two key initiatives aimed at nurturing young talent and school children through the BrightSparX Programme, and the Premier’s BrightSparX Innovation Award Programme.
“These programmes are designed to inspire the next generation of Sarawakian innovators,” he said.
On the matter of intellectual property, Sagah said SRDC funded projects has successfully filed 10 intellectual property applications to date.
