By WONG LI ZA
star2@thestar.com.my
Promising: Serotech CEO Sharifah Nur
Rahimah Syed Alias with Assoc Prof Dr Ahmed Mahir Mokhtar Mohamed Bakri at a
contract farmer’s farm in Selangor. The CiliBangi project has generated good
response from investors. A GOOD idea remains just that – a mere idea – if it does not take shape.
Throughout history, thousands of brilliant inventions worldwide have gone unnoticed due to lack of buy-in from relevant parties and financial support.
However, these creations could potentially have generated much income or benefited society, or in short, been transformed from being an invention to an innovation.
Bridging the gap between invention and commerce is an initiative facilitated by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) called Innovation Business Opportunities (IBO).
AIM is a statutory body set up by the Government via the AIM Act 2010 with the primary purpose of being the driving force behind Malaysia’s push towards establishing an “innovation economy” and the country’s aspiration of achieving high-income nation status.
Launched in April this year, IBO offers intellectual properties owned by universities, and public research and development organisations in Malaysia, to the private sector for them to be taken up and commercialised.
“Innovation Business Opportunities is one of the initiatives undertaken by AIM to ensure ideas are taken through from creation to commercialisation,” said Faizal Hasan, assistant vice-president (IBO) with AIM.
“Under IBO, innovations from public universities and research institutes are documented, analysed and offered to the rakyat for bidding. The idea is to provide these government-funded innovations as opportunities for the rakyat to create new wealth,” he said.
What a harvest! Cilibangi, a top
quality chilli, being dried at Rumah Tumbuhan, UKM. Phase Two of the IBO was launched recently by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who also announced the progress from Phase One.
Of the 42 IBOs offered in Phase One, 33 had the potential to generate revenue totalling RM1.58bil over three years, 15 had been taken up by industry partners for commercialisation, while 18 others were in different stages of negotiations.
These 18 projects have the potential of adding another RM748mil to the nation’s Gross National Income (GNI), while the total revenue potential for the 15 projects is estimated at RM832mil.
Under Phase Two, 50 new technologies and products, which are open for transparent and competitive bidding, have the potential of generating RM560mil after three years of operation.
When this article went to print, at least nine projects had received bidders.
They include, with projected third year revenue in parentheses, the LesTani: Biofungicide for Control of BSR Disease of Oil Palm (RM45.6mil); Production of Bioethanol from Palm Oil Waste (RM17.72mil); MyCOACH Software for Sports Motion Coaching System that analyses human motion on video without using any additional physical marker or special tight fitting clothing (RM360,000); Commercial Sweetener, a project that aims to produce Sorbitol, a natural sweetener used in health foods and sugar-free products, from sawdust (RM6.4mil); the AquaTCS fish tank filter (RM2.7mil); and the Sundait Board Game, a Borneo-based educational and entertaining board game that incorporates Kadazan-Dusun riddles (RM290,400).
Another two projects with high potential revenue are the Wengtonia: Detoxificant for Drug Addiction, a health supplement with antioxidant and anti-microbial properties for detoxification purposes (RM36.7mil), and Natural Colourant for Cosmetics, derived from orchid pigment (RM117mil).
Wengtonia’s main ingredient is derived from a local plant called daun putat (Barringtonia racemosa), traditionally consumed as a salad and found largely in rural areas.
Natural colourants in biomaterials are
stabilised in the form of macrobeads through environmentfriendly
biotechnological processes. Wengtonia has powerful antioxidant properties which enhance the immune system and encourage anti-microbial activities against various species of pathogens.
“It is suitable for both new drug users and also hardcore addicts, but the latter may have to take higher dosages,” said Lee, adding that UMK has started planting the daun putat.
“Depending on the dosage applied, basically it will take a week before the detoxification effect shows. Theoretically, Wengtonia may also help patients on long-term medications reduce their dependency on their medication due to the high antioxidant content in the plant,” he said, adding that they hope to set up their own company and commercialise the product.
Wengtonia costs US$100 (RM310) for 500 pills.
Aiming to tap into the billion-dollar colour cosmetics market is the natural colourant IBO spearheaded by Prof Dr Lee Pat Moi, former researcher at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam.
Currently founder and CEO of PML ChemBioTech Sdn Bhd based at FRIM-MTDC Technology Centre in Kepong, Selangor, Prof Lee’s project plans to commercialise natural and functional floral colourants for food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
“The purpose is to enable the general public to consume colourful, yet safe food products and use appealing and safe cosmetic products,” said Prof Lee.
The spectrum of colourants are violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, obtainable from a single species of orchid flowers such as dendrobium or cattleya, red hibiscus and clitoria ternatea. The red, blue and violet colourants possess antioxidant properties and other health benefits as well.
Daun putat (Barringtonia racemosa),
the main ingredient in Wengtonia, a health supplement for detoxification
purposes. “We have stabilised our natural red colourants in biomaterials in the form of macro-beads. micro-beads and nano particles through mild and environment-friendly biotechnological processes.
“They are brightly coloured and the biomaterials used for stabilisation also have anti-microbial and antioxidant properties. In addition, they are biodegradable and safe to be consumed,” she emphasised, adding that the natural colourants are more stable than other natural colourants by two- to three-fold at temperatures of less than 45°C.
Prof Lee added that she and her team have also developed formulations for blue and violet lipsticks which contain blue and violet floral extracts respectively.
“When the blue lipstick is applied to lips, the colour changes from blue to red. Similarly, the colour of the lips changes from violet to red upon using the violet lipstick,” she said, adding that the lipsticks also have moisturising effect.
To date, the company has filed seven patents in Malaysia and the natural colourants have also won several international awards, including two Geneva Gold Medal Awards (Switzerland), the Eureka Special Gold Medal Award (Brussel) and Biotech Asia Gold Medal Award.
“Our plan is to further strengthen our research and development to produce natural product-based aesthetic healthcare and therapeutical bioproducts to add aesthetical value as well as contribute to the quality of life,” she shared.
One of the IBOs from Phase One which has generated good response from investors is the CiliBangi project, which has the potential to generate a revenue of RM44.5mil in three years.
CiliBangi is a top quality chilli that is virus-resistant, high yielding and easily harvested. The chilli was first cultivated by the late Professor K.M. Graham in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1978. The work was continued by Assoc Prof Dr Ahmed Mahir Mokhtar Mohamed Bakri in 1987.
After 15 generations, Cilibangi-1 and -2 varieties were developed and introduced in 1995. Cilibangi-3 and Cilibangi-4 were cultivated after 20 generations and launched in 1998.
In 2010, another new variety combining the previous traits of Cilibangi was developed and named Crunchious, a trademarked premium hybrid which has a longer life-span.
“Crunchious is the brand given to two varieties of Cilibangi which have two heat levels – hot and mild. This brand is positioned for the international market. An international company has shown interest in planting Cilibangi in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and are negotiating on the licensing agreement which will be signed soon,” revealed Serotech Sdn Bhd CEO Sharifah Nur Rahimah Syed Alias.
Serotech is a subsidiary of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), set up through its commercial arm, UKM Technology Sdn Bhd. It is tasked to handle the production and distribution of Cilibangi to the market.
“Cilibangi’s synchronised flowering and fruiting makes it easy for farmers to plan large-scale staggered planting to produce a continuous supply of chilli throughout the year. This unique characteristic of Cilibangi has attracted investors,” explained Sharifah.
Since April 2012, over 10,000 seedlings have been sold to contract farmers, both directly and via outsourcing.
“We are evaluating a buy-back programme from them. At the moment, we are helping them find the market for the chillies. So far, it is going very well,” said Sharifah.
“Farmers have shown a lot of interest in planting Cilibangi. However, we have to ensure only quality farmers and entrepreneurs are selected to ensure the success of our Cilibangi Planting Programme,” she said.
Currently, the company’s target market for the fresh chillies is end-product industries like chilli sauce and sambal-related producers, which constitute the largest percentage (40%) of the Malaysian chilli market segment.
“We are planning to enter the hypermarkets once we’ve started our large-scale planting programme. Other than fresh chillies, we’re also planning to produce our own Cilibangi powder and paste.
“We’re confident of achieving our target revenue. We expect next year to be a very productive year with many big projects coming in,” added Sharifah.
■ For more info, visit innovation.my or cilibangi.com or facebook.com/Cilibangi
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