KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 – Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced today it would pump more than half a billion ringgit into Malaysia over the next five years.
The global pharmaceutical company’s investment would include a new AstraZeneca Malaysia headquarters called OneAZ in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, to house local and global business operations.
A new global business services hub will also be equipped with robotic technology and automation to support financial, accounting and business services for AstraZeneca operations in the Asia Pacific region.
“In our almost 40-year presence in Malaysia, AstraZeneca has built strong portfolios in medical education, diagnostics, research, disease prevention activities and various programmes to increase affordability and access to innovative medicines, all of which aim to achieve better health care outcomes for patients in Malaysia.
“We are planning close collaborations with our partners to explore digital transformation in the management of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer in Malaysia,” AstraZeneca Malaysia country president Allen Patino said in a statement.
AstraZeneca signed today a memorandum of agreement with InvestKL, a government agency that aims to attract foreign investments, to collaborate on health care innovation, talent development, and vendor partnerships between 2019 and 2023.
“In line with its strategy for improving access to healthcare, AstraZeneca aims to improve disease prevention, awareness and treatment, building capacity in areas with limited infrastructure and improving affordability for underserved patients,” said the global biopharmaceutical company.
International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming said at the inauguration of AstraZeneca Malaysia’s new headquarters that the government welcomed good investments in health care and related research and development.
“We welcome AstraZeneca’s collaboration with healthcare industry stakeholders to improve outcomes for patients with noncommunicable diseases or NCDs by addressing gaps in disease management,” Ong said.
“I am glad to see AstraZeneca contributing its expertise in treating cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer in initiatives such as improving cancer testing, early access to the latest medicines, supporting screening for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and much more.
“I’m also glad to say that this is made possible through a strong working relationship with agencies such as MIDA (Malaysian Investment Development Authority), MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation), and InvestKL,” he added.
