14/02/2025
MALAYSIAN STAKEHOLDERS SYMPOSIUM FOR PHAGE THERAPY – A SUCCESS!
On 12 – 13 February 2025, the Malaysian Stakeholders Symposium for Phage Therapy was successfully held at NIH Setia Alam, officiated by Datuk Dr. Nor Fariza binti Ngah, Deputy Director-General of Health (Research & Technical Support), Ministry of Health Malaysia and IMR Director, Dr. Ami Fazlin binti Syed Mohamed.
The symposium brought together renowned experts and distinguished guests, including senior officers from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI), and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia.
💡 About the Event
This landmark event was mainly organised by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), NIH, with valuable collaborations from:
🔹Phages for Global Health
🔹Centre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST University
🔹 Institute for Clinical Research Malaysia - formerly known as CRC
🔹 CRC Hospital Sungai Buloh Selangor
💡 Key Takeaways:
✅ Phage research & clinical applications – Insightful presentations on personalised phage therapy and real-world case studies
✅ Phage production & regulatory frameworks – Exploring global best practices and Malaysia’s pathway for implementation
✅ Group discussions – Experts collaborated on phage biobanking, clinical trials, manufacturing, and regulatory frameworks
✅ Future direction – Steps towards establishing a blueprint or national action plan for Phage Therapy in Malaysia
💡 The esteemed speakers, including:
🔹 Dato' Dr. Suresh Kumar (Hospital Sungai Buloh) – AMR in Malaysia
🔹 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sivachandran Parimannan (AIMST University) – Phage research in Malaysia
🔹 Dr. Viknesh Sivanathan (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) - SEA-PHAGES program
🔹 Prof. Jonathan Iredell (Phage Australia) – Australia's national phage therapy system
🔹 Assoc. Prof. Jeremy Barr (Monash University) – Restoring antibiotic sensitivity with phages
🔹 Assoc. Prof. Kwa Lay Hoon, Andrea (Duke-NUS) – Singapore’s approach to personalised phage therapy
🔹 Dr. Bálint Kintses (HCEMM) – Developing phage cocktails using genomic surveillance
🔹 Dr. Frenk Smrekar (PhageEU Coalition, JAFRAL) – GMP phage manufacturing
🔹 Dr. Tobi Nagel (Phages for Global Health) – Global regulatory perspectives
🔹 Dr. Zaril Harza Zakaria (NPRA) – Clinical trial regulations in Malaysia
👏 A big thank you to all attendees, speakers, and organising partners for making this symposium a success! This is just the beginning – let’s continue working together towards a future where phage therapy plays a key role in fighting AMR.
