KLSMC Stem Cells Awarded for Innovation in Stem Cell Therapy
Kuala Lumpur, 6th of November, 2013 – KLSMC Stem Cells Sdn Bhd (KLSMC SC), the research and development arm of the Kuala Lumpur Sports Medicine Centre (KLSMC) was awarded with the BioNexus Innovation Awards 2013 by the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (BiotechCorp), an agency under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
The award was presented during the BioNexus Appreciation Night 2013 in conjunction with the BioEconomy Asia Pacific Exhibition and Conference 2013. This event was held at Thistle Hotel in Johor Bahru on 21st of October 2013. The series of BioNexus Industry awards are to recognise BioNexus companies for their efforts in introducing innovation in the company and transforming ideas into results.
KLSMC’s achievement of the BioNexus Innovation Awards 2013 was based on qualitative and quantitative criteria which focused on growth and resilience. Nominees for the award were reviewed by a panel of judges which comprised of several business leaders and individuals from Government agencies to ensure fair and impartial assessment. The assessment process is partially conducted by Deloitte, one of the world’s leading professional services organizations.
“Innovation is essential to stay ahead in the current competitive environment. KLSMC Stem Cells recognises that this is the key for global positioning with our patented technology in using peripheral blood stem cells for articular cartilage regeneration. It is a great honour for our efforts to be recognised with this BioNexus Innovation Award 2013 by Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation. Our journey has just begun and we hope for the continuous support of the Malaysian government in the coming years.,” said Dr. Saw Khay Yong, consultant orthopaedic surgeon.
KLSMC Stem Cells Sdn. Bhd. was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of KLSMC. Its main objective is to spearhead research on stem cells regenerative therapy in the musculoskeletal system. After 8 years of extensive research, Dr. Saw himself revealed a breakthrough discovery that by injecting the patients’ own blood stem cells, coupled with surgical intervention and physiotherapy, it is now possible for patients to regenerate hyaline cartilage. This is now a patented technology.
Research for the technology started with an animal model in collaboration with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the results were published in the December 2009 edition of the Journal of Arthroscopy. Following this, results from case studies of human patients were recognised by an international reviewer and were published in the Journal of Arthroscopy in April 2011.
A randomised controlled trial was initiated in Year 2009 funded by MOSTI in collaboration with UPM and Inno Bio Ventures Sdn Bhd. This was a Phase III trial, which ended in 2012 and the manuscript was published in Journal of Arthroscopy, April 2013 issue.
Dr. Saw further stressed the importance of assuring the safety and efficacy of an innovative medical technology. Stem cell technology for chrondogenesis is clearly a World first and puts Malaysia on the map of medical technological innovation. However, as the team at KLSMC are quick to point out, this is only the start of a journey to reveal the full potential of their innovation. The benefits to Malaysia as a centre for medical innovation are self-evident but perhaps even more profound is the fact that many people from across the world can now enjoy relief from a painful condition and the restoration of an improved quality of life.
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