BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - BRUNEI has the opportunity to capture a “significant” share of the global alternative medicine market due to the country’s well-preserved rainforest, said the acting chief executive officer of NBI Brunei Sdn Bhd.
In a statement emailed to The Brunei Times, Dr Vijaya Rajendram said by 2015, the global alternative medicine sector is expected to be valued at approximately $115 and that Brunei can capture a significant portion of the market through its current research and development project with the Brunei government.
Brunei has a well-protected environment representing flora and fauna of Borneo which gives the Sultanate an opportunity to identify plants that have not been fully discovered and develop a thorough understanding of bio-chemistry, he explained.
The identification of new species of medicinal plants intrinsic to the Borneo region has not been fully discovered due to rapid expansion of oil palm plantation in neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
“The global alternative medicine sector is expected to reach close to $115 billion by 2015,” said Vijaya, quoting information obtained from Global Alternative Medicine Industry dated January 2012.
He added that major players in this segment are Sanofi Consumer Health, GlaxoSmithKline Plc Consumer Health, Bayer AG Consumer Health, Johnson & Johnson Inc Consumer Health, Novartis AG Consumer Health and NBTY Inc Consumer Health.
“Looking at the market size, Brunei has the opportunity to capture a significant share of this market. This will help stimulate a new generation of entrepreneurs, open doors for MNCs to invest in Brunei and to the economic growth, besides oil and gas. As for NBI, this earning potential will set the company to be a substantial player globally in this segment,” the acting CEO explained.
NBI, in collaboration with MIPR, will be carrying out R&D projects in bio-food and pharmaceutical technology over the next three years, and Vijaya has hinted that the company may consider patenting any future findings in Brunei.
“NBI intends to produce the natural medicinal extracts or isolates applying the same or higher standards than the pharmaceutical standards. In addition to these requirements, NBI is to develop micro-propagation techniques using novel technology to produce these plants in a sustainable manner so that we can still enjoy the benefits produced by these plants and at the same time preserve the rainforest for our future generation,” he said.
“The probability of finding a novel chemical compound and developing a novel technology is very likely and therefore would seek to patent these outcomes. Having the Brunei Intellectual Property Office will help NBI in registering any IP discovered, be it registration of IP in Brunei, or abroad. This is major advantage for NBI.”
Three R&D projects are to be undertaken following a signing ceremony held earlier this month.
According to a statement provided by MIPR at the event, the first project will be an ‘in-vitro propagation of medicinal plants for medicinal preparation’.
This project will identify and screen medicinal plants unique to Borneo for bioactives which have substantial medicinal benefits to treat metabolic syndrome such as elevated triglycerides, hypertension, hyperglycaemia and obesity in high risk patients, read the statement.
It added that the project will evaluate a novel technique for the propagation of the plants, increase in production of primary and secondary metabolites through the optimisation of soil nutrient contents and uptake efficiency.
This, the statement explained, will be monitored by measuring the physiological status of the plants in predetermined environmental conditions.
A strategy, based on the data collected, will be developed for commercial and sustainable production of these plants.
The second project will be on the design and development of novel delivery systems in food and pharmaceutical products.
This project will explore, identify and evaluate naturally occurring vesicles found in plants across Borneo, the statement said.
The mechanism of its functionality will be investigated and replicated in a model system after which the findings will be further extended to encapsulation studies using bioactives which have been isolated and purified from the first project as the subject, the statement said.
The efficiency of this system will be subsequently applied in human studies and commercialised upon success, the statement added.
The last project is the development of halal rennet sourced from plant extracts to be manufactured into cheese and yoghurt.
This project, said the statement, will identify plant enzymes extracted from plants found in Borneo that have coagulative properties under similar physio-chemical conditions to animal rennet without compromising sensory, functionality and texture for the production of cheddar and soft cheese.
The Brunei Times
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