MGRC

MGRC supports the Malaysian Government’s national job creation strategic plan. Accordingly, we search and recruit potential candidates from the Government’s MyFutureJobs portal, a national employment portal, to ensure that Malaysians are prioritised for employment opportunities.

Between 2019 and 2022, 61% of biotech graduates worked in unrelated sectors. To counter this trend, MGRC provides high-value employment opportunities for local graduates, especially in the biotechnology sector. This effort will stimulate economic growth and help to reduce the number of graduates who fail to find employment in their field of study. In addition, MGRC has formed collaborations with various organisations and institutions to support local students and graduates, which can help to alleviate this situation. These collaborations include working with MAHSA Health Sdn Bhd to promote practice-based education, research, and knowledge exchange, which involve creating opportunities for students’ clinical placement, internship, employment, and training.

Since 2004, MGRC has pioneered innovative products and services in Malaysia and the region. Our unique products and services began with genome sequencing and analysis, and later expanded to genetic screening services, chimeric antigen receptor (“CAR”) T-cell cancer immunotherapy, other cell therapies and kidney dialysis.

Our involvement in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors, especially in niche markets, contributed to the growth of Malaysia by facilitating technology transfer into the country, reducing capital outflow with local production, and contributing to infrastructure development by setting up one of the first privately owned Biosafety Level 2 (“BSL-2”) laboratories in the region for CAR T-cell immunotherapy and other cell engineering services. In addition, providing better health solutions enables our customers to take proactive actions to improve their health, leading to better health for the population and resulting in improved health and increased productivity for the economy.

MGRC continues to develop new and innovative healthcare solutions and expand into other areas of healthcare to benefit the growth of local and foreign economies. With our continuous expansion efforts, we have gained partners and distributors in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, India, the United States, the Middle East and North Africa.

MGRC has formed local and global partnerships/collaborations with various companies and organisations to encourage sustainable businesses that stimulate local and regional economic growth. In addition, our collaborations facilitate technology and knowledge transfers between countries, including developing countries.

In the past year, among the notable collaborations involving research and development (“R&D”) of healthcare solutions include:

• Rinani Genotec Sdn Bhd: Development of new healthcare solutions, which include genetic screening tests for sports and fitness.
• MAHSA Health Sdn Bhd: Collaboration in health and wellness-related services, and identification of opportunities for R&D.
• National Institutes of Health (“NIH”): Cooperation, publication, and presentation of scientific data in various medical research.
• United Doctors Hospital, Saudi Arabia: Collaboration in genomics and cell therapies, including R&D for genetic screening tests, bioinformatics analysis and cell therapy projects in the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region.
• Ajlan & Bros Medical Company, Saudi Arabia: Distribution of biopharmaceutical and genomics products and services, and identification of commercial R&D for agriculture, aquaculture, plantations, healthcare, and industrial biotechnology in the MENA region.
• University Malaysia Sabah (“UMS”): Collaboration on R&D in genetics, regenerative and alternative medicines.
• Acquest Healthcare Stem Cell Research Company Limited, Thailand: Exchange of knowledge and expertise in CAR T-cell and other cell products for mutual commercial benefits.
• Salus Holdings Company Limited, Thailand: Distribution of genetic screening and cell therapy products in Thailand.
• Marine Group Company Limited, Thailand: Collaborative research in the use of genetic screening tests and formulated cosmetic products containing cell therapy ingredients for the regeneration of skin and hair.

We strive to be responsible towards our customers and deliver quality products and services. We understand that ensuring consistent quality and continuous improvements are essential for a successful and sustainable business in today’s dynamic and competitive business environment.

We have obtained the necessary certifications to ensure that our products and services follow set quality standards appropriate for their use and meet our customers’ expectations. Therefore, our headquarters and laboratories have successfully obtained the following ISO certifications:

We know the importance of keeping our customer’s personal information safe. Therefore, we strictly follow the guidelines of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA”). Serial numbers are used instead of customers’ information when processing their samples in the laboratory. This prevents laboratory personnel from discovering our customers’ identities and prevents any potential misuse of information. To date, we have not experienced any data breaches since MGRC’s inception in 2004.

MGRC’s waste discharge and disposal are minimal, and we comply with environmental laws to ensure that waste by-products from our facility do not adversely impact the surrounding environment and people.

We practice proper waste disposal practice that is detailed as follows:

• We decontaminate wastes that are bio-contamination risks inside an autoclave to neutralise pathogens before disposal.
• We keep potentially hazardous biological waste in a designated storage area to prevent leakages before responsibly disposing of them.
• We engage Sharps N Bins Sdn Bhd, a professional medical waste disposal company, to transport away wastes from our facility for safe disposal.
• We recycle obsolete equipment at a proper recycling facility.
• We donate reusable equipment and furniture to organisations and NGOs instead of throwing them away.
• We provide some of our products in recyclable insulated boxes to reduce waste generation, where customers will receive a credit note if they return the containers.

We take the following steps to manage energy efficiency to reduce the usage of non-renewable resources and minimise pollution of the environment:

• Monitoring and tracking energy consumption of our facility.
• Checking the energy efficiency of our equipment.
• Purchasing the latest energy-efficient equipment whenever possible, such as refrigerators and air conditioners with 4 or 5 energy star ratings and SIRIM certification, or those in line with Belanjawan 2021.
• Ensuring that our employees follow recommended practise to minimise energy use by turning off unnecessary equipment and energy sources after or during office hours.
• Using motion-activated tinted sliding doors in our facility reduces air conditioner electric usage.
• Complying with all environmental laws and regulations – to date, we do not have any environmental-related complaints lodged against our Company.
• Utilising energy-saving LED lights throughout our facility.

We strive to make our products and services readily available to consumers by collaborating with our partners to provide innovative healthcare solutions to the public. They can then benefit from long-term health and well-being, and reduce premature mortality due to non-communicable diseases.

For instance, in the past year, we signed a collaborative agreement with UCrest Berhad to offer genetic screening services in Malaysia and overseas via their digital health platform, iMedic. We also collaborated with AirAsia to make our genetic screening tests available on AirAsia’s Super App, the region’s leading travel and digital lifestyle platform. This was done in collaboration with two other partners – Unique Remedy Sdn Bhd, which produces cost-effective, customised health supplements, and SpeedDoc (M) Sdn Bhd, which provides convenient doctors’ consultations to customers.

Our cancer immunotherapy treatments are made more accessible and affordable to cancer patients on a compassionate-use basis. For example, the typical treatment cost of CAR T-cell therapy is around USD400,000.00 overseas. However, we are making this treatment available for USD50,000.00. We acknowledge the importance of making healthcare solutions more accessible to patients needing this treatment to improve their health conditions or save their lives.

Our subsidiary, MGRC Healthcare (MGRC-H), has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Aquahealth Sdn Bhd to provide downstream healthcare services, including kidney dialysis. More frontline healthcare services will be made available to the public in the future.

For our CAR T-cell immunotherapy, MGRC has commenced applications to conduct clinical trials for the benefit of cancer patients in public and private hospitals in Malaysia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we commenced a COVID-19 surveillance project for the Institute for Medical Research to monitor the evolution of the COVID-19 virus, its variants and sub-variants. We also undertook the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccinations to help curb the spread of the disease and its health risks.

We emphasise the safety and health of our employees to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being. Therefore, we provide the necessary amenities such as a clean, air-conditioned work environment and access to safe and clean filtered mineral water for drinking.

In addition, MGRC has an ‘Emergency Response Plan’ in place to always ensure our employees’ safety. The plan includes designated Floor Marshalls, an emergency response team with first aid experience, emergency showers in all our laboratories, and other necessary SOPs related to assembly points, emergency exits and fire extinguishers. Besides the lab coats used by personnel in our genomics laboratory, our cell laboratory personnel wear full-body personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect them from any contagious organisms. To date, we have no incidence of contamination, injuries or fatalities in our facility.

MGRC supports quality education by providing internship opportunities so students can receive valuable on-the-job training on new knowledge and technology before graduation. They will then be able to apply what they have learned in their studies to their future work. In addition, upon completing their internships, they may be allowed to work full-time at MGRC to start their career and positively contribute to the knowledge economy.

Among the educational institutions with which MGRC is currently collaborating to provide training and internship opportunities are:

• UMS: MGRC to strengthen the teaching and research facilities of the UMS Faculty of Sciences and National Resources’ undergraduate programme, which includes creating opportunities for students to serve their internships at MGRC.
• MAHSA: MGRC to create opportunities for MAHSA students’ clinical placement and internship.
• NIH: MGRC Therapeutics Sdn Bhd (MGRC-T), a fully-owned MGRC subsidiary, is collaborating with NIH to carry out an exchange of staff and students for adjunct appointments, research attachments and internships.

MGRC considers employees our biggest asset and the main reason for our success. In a highly specialised industry like ours, where the learning curve is high due to the technical work nature, retaining skilled employees, who are experienced and familiar with the job requirements, is essential.

In the competitive and ever-changing business landscape, we acknowledge and recognise the importance of continuous training and development of our employees to ensure that they can execute their work properly and productively and can build their careers for the long term. Each employee is encouraged to attend company-paid training at least twice a year. We will continue to identify suitable training opportunities for our employees to enhance their knowledge and bring the Group to a higher level. We will reap the benefits in the future by retaining skilled employees who can be empowered to take on future leadership roles.

MGRC complies with labour law and provides SOCSO and EPF contributions on time. We also provide employees with free genetic screening tests as a health benefit and also to help them learn and be aware of the benefits of such unique tests.

We are aware that a high employee turnover rate will negatively affect and disrupt the overall business operations of the Group. Therefore, we strive to minimise our employee turnover rate by providing them with a conducive work environment and allowing them to progress and advance in their career. We try to create awareness among employees that at MGRC, we are all a part of a big family. We try to instil camaraderie and teamwork through various activities, which include staff lunches, social initiatives, and monthly fun activities, such as bowling, durian fests, battle laser, barbeque nights, and movie days. We will continue to make more effort to manage, nurture and retain our talents sustainably.

At MGRC, we aim to develop and maintain a dynamic workforce with diverse individuals from different ethnic groups, cultural backgrounds, ages, experiences and skills. We strongly believe diversity will bring forth imagination, creativity and productivity. Currently, we conduct non-discriminatory and diverse employment practices throughout our Group.

Our current employee breakdown is as follows:

MGRC will put in more effort to support SDG 5 of achieving gender equality, empowering women, and striving to achieve at least 50% female participation at all levels. Currently, we have 43% female participation in our workforce, including management and employees. We provide equal opportunities and remuneration for men and women of the same job level.

MGRC is aware of our corporate social responsibility in giving back and contributing to our community. Therefore, we integrate community outreach initiatives into our business practices and encourage our employees to volunteer and be actively involved in our social responsibility activities.

For the past year, we have been involved in the following worthy causes:

• Supported Yayasan Seri Negara’s (YSN) Ihya Ramadhan 2022 programme by giving monetary aid to orphans and the underprivileged.
• Provided groceries to an NGO to feed the poor in Kuala Lumpur, as this initiative is in line with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development’s effort to enhance the quality of life of the community.
• Participated in Kasih Hospice Foundation’s Charity Golf Tournament 2022, where the proceeds from this event aided the foundation’s patients and families.
• Sponsored food to Pertubuhan Dai Kuala Lumpur (DAIKL) to help those in the B40 category, whose number has increased post-pandemic.
• We donated office furniture to Undi 18, a Malaysian youth movement organisation.
• We donated laboratory furniture to Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Petaling, Selangor.

MGRC has established a Code of Conduct and Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) Policy to guide the Group’s employees and stakeholders. We have also established a Whistleblowing Policy as an avenue for any party to report unethical behaviour, illegal acts or failure to comply with relevant laws, rules and regulations, and internal policies. Our Code of Conduct, ABC Policy and Whistleblowing Policy are published on our website at www.mgrc.com.my. We are pleased to highlight that none of the management or employees of MGRC has been disciplined or dismissed for graft and corruption since our inception in 2004.

We have collaborated with CRDF Global, an independent non-profit organisation that promotes safety, security and sustainability through science and innovation, in a project titled ‘Protecting Emerging Biotechnological Technologies From Misuse Through Know-Your-Customer and Due Diligence Best Practices’. Through our collaboration, we were issued a certificate of appreciation in Leadership, issued by CRDF Global on behalf of their partner, the U.S. Department of State, to recognise our leadership as a local coordinator in identifying critical stakeholders.