In a pioneering move for Malaysia’s healthcare sector, Sunway Healthcare Group has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. This historic agreement, signed at a ceremony held at the Sunway Sanctuary, marks the first collaboration of its kind between a Malaysian private healthcare group and a leading international pharmaceutical company.
The MOU was formally signed by Dr. Khoo Chow Huat, Managing Director of Hospital & Healthcare Operations at Sunway Healthcare Group, and Vinod Narayanan, Country President of AstraZeneca Malaysia. The ceremony was witnessed by Dato’ Lau Beng Long, President of Sunway Healthcare Group, and Sylvia Varela, Asia Vice President for AstraZeneca.
The partnership aims to leverage the strengths of both organizations to advance clinical trials, research, and healthcare services. Building on existing collaborations, this initiative seeks to enhance healthcare delivery through innovative solutions tailored to address pressing healthcare challenges.
One of the immediate initiatives under this MOU is the exploration of early screening for lung cancer among at-risk populations. Additionally, the partnership plans to integrate the Kidney Failure Risk Equation into lab reports for better management of chronic kidney disease. The collaboration will also focus on accelerating the development of clinical research through various projects, including observational studies, real-world evidence generation, molecular diagnostics studies, and the clinical validation of digital pathology and digital healthcare solutions. Notably, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) will play a crucial role in these advancements.
Furthermore, the MOU highlights AstraZeneca’s intention to consider Sunway Medical Centre (SMC) as a potential site for future clinical trials, including Phase I trials. This could significantly expand patient access to AstraZeneca’s innovative drugs currently under development.
“With the rise of non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes in Malaysia, we need all hands on deck to develop solutions, be it to prevent, diagnose or treat these conditions, for the benefit of humankind,” said Dr Khoo Chow Huat, Managing Director (Hospital & Healthcare Operations) of Sunway Healthcare Group.
“This is one of the reasons we established the Sunway Clinical Research Centre (SCRC) in 2009, that currently focuses on phase II to phase IV clinical trials and feasibility studies across a diverse spectrum of disciplines. To date, the SCRC has facilitated 101 investigator-led research involving our own medical consultants and professionals, and 50 industry-sponsored research in collaboration with various academic, research, medical technology and pharmaceutical organisations, with 24 being active research in this latter category.”
“AstraZeneca is one of the major contributors to the industry-sponsored research in the SCRC, and we want to take this collaboration further by exploring Phase 1 clinical trials with AstraZeneca, when SMC’s Phase I Clinical Trial Unit is ready in 2025 – marking the first such partnership for us, as well as for AstraZeneca, where private hospitals are concerned,” Dr Khoo added.
Commenting on the partnership, Vinod said; “As a science-led, global pharmaceutical company, we are committed to advancing the field of clinical research, and accelerating the delivery of new medicines that could potentially provide more effective treatment, prevention and, ultimately, cure for some of the world’s most complex diseases. By leveraging digital technologies like AI, and collaborating with partners like Sunway and across the health network, we are speeding up the chances of success in scientific research for new medicines, designing and recruiting for better clinical trials and driving personalised medicine strategies.”
“Our partnership with SHG exemplifies how we are harnessing advanced AI technology. We are exploring the use of AI for early lung cancer screening and to detect tumor markers within our cancer portfolio and considering Sunway Medical Centre as a potential site for future clinical trials. We hope to replicate the success of this collaboration by expanding it to include other hospitals under the Sunway Healthcare Group in the near future.”