It is with great pleasure that we announce that IUKL and BioGenes Technologies Sdn. Bhd. have been awarded a RM 1.13 million Research & Development grant by the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia to jointly develop Point-of-Care testing (POCT) biosensor system using next-generation detection technology for the surveillance and control of Food & Mouth virus and other important veterinary infectious diseases.

BioGenes Technologies Sdn. Bhd., a biotech company specialising in biosensors will be commercialising a patent-pending technology that produces functional “synthetic antibodies” or aptamers under a licensing agreement from Dr. Samson Soon from the Faculty of Engineering, Science & Technology, IUKL in its electrochemical-based aptasensor for the rapid detection of infectious pathogens. Aptasensor technology integrates the application of aptamer nanomaterial and digital sensors to identify a target biomolecule or pathogen. The technology platform provides a next-generation digital rapid Point-of-Care testing (POCT) system that can detect the presence of live pathogens through real-time biosensing in active surveillance operations without the need for expensive equipment and chemistries.