PUTRAJAYA, May 21 – Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM), a Ministry of Health owned Site Management Organization, celebrated Clinical Trials Day on 19 May 2022 along with the Deputy Minister of Health I, Dato’ Dr. Haji Noor Azmi Bin Ghazali as well as stakeholders within the clinical research fraternity in Malaysia. With the theme ‘Get Involved’, the Clinical Trials Day celebration honored trial volunteers, investigators, study team members, regulators as well as industry members who have supported the clinical research ecosystem in the country.
CRM’s I AM AWARE Photography series was also showcased during the event, which highlighted real-life stories of several trial participants’ journeys, aimed to enhance patients’ and the public’s awareness about clinical trials. Several industry members also had exhibitions set up during the program, sharing on their latest research activities and developments.
The annual CRM Sponsored Research Awards were then presented by Dato’ Dr. Noor Azmi, on behalf of the Minister of Health, to outstanding achievers in sponsored clinical research in the country. Among clinicians who received the awards include Dr. Vijaya Kumar Suppan (Orthopedic Surgeon) from Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim and Associate Professor Dr. Lim Soo Kun (Consultant Nephrologist) from University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for contributing toward good clinical trial patient recruitment and high number of sponsored research uptake respectively.
UMMC and Hospital Pulau Pinang were both recognized as ‘Top Study Site’ for conducting high number of sponsored studies in 2021, as well as being top sites in oncology. Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) received ‘Sponsor of the Year’ award for bringing in the highest value of new trials in 2021, while IQVIA Malaysia received ‘CRO of the Year’ award for contracting the highest number of new clinical trials in 2021.
Two new awards were handed this year, to both Dato’ Dr. Fam Tem Lom (Consultant Physician) and Hospital Miri respectively, for demonstrating significant advancement in sponsored research conduct compared to the years before. CRM had also initiated its 10th-anniversary celebration during the program, celebrating its decade milestone in supporting sponsored clinical research in the country.
Set up in June 2012, the organization has since succeeded in its formation objectives in 2020 and have paved multiple collaborations and partnership with global partners in further enhancing the development of sponsored research within the nation, including the most recent partnership with Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), for the development of dengue treatment.
Following this, Malaysia has now conducted over 1800 sponsored research since 2012 and has now gained the second position within the Southeast Asia region after Singapore, in terms of the number of global industry-sponsored studies. CRM as an organisation has also been certified with both ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System and ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System, committed to remaining steadfast in being a global trusted research management organization to its partners.
“It has been a great pleasure to see how the clinical research industry has grown over the years with CRM’s facilitation in the conduct of trials in the country, and we look forward to more outstanding achievements in the future.”, remarked Dato’ Dr. Noor Azmi, during the event.
