Aesthetically Speaking
Patients needs to know the technology , the scientific benefits , what it can and cannot do .
Prof . Chua Kien Hui
Supergenics Berhad , Wellspring Solutions Sdn Bhd
Advocating stem-cell into regenerative medicine era
Professor Chua wears many hats . He ’ s an educator in regenerative medicine and medical technology at the University Kebangsaan Malaysia ( UKM ). He ’ s also the Executive Director ( R & D ) for Supergenics Berhad , the leading biotechnology company specializing in stem cell therapies , exosomes , and regenerative medicine , and an Advisor of Wellspring Solutions Sdn Bhd . In short , he teaches , he trains , he champions the scientific details lies in stem-cell applications .
How did it all begin ? I have the know-how blueprint of stem-cell and exosome technology . My team and I were the first to develop this in Malaysia .
A while back , Supergenics acquired the said technology and signed a patent agreement with UKM , and to ensure the technology transfer is maximised , this whole process will be consulted and trained , by myself .
Wellspring Solutions signed a partnership agreement on exosome application with Supergenics for their aesthetic products . While Wellspring focuses on skin and aesthetic beautification , they too believe in the foundation of science principals in their products which aligns well with mine and Supergenics ’ s principals . It ’ s a solid partnership for all parties .
I play the role of ensuring all parties have the right training , the right quality system and the right applications . Inevitably , I work in getting stem-cell and exosome technologies into whether a diagnostic , regenerative medicine , corrective and transformative aesthetic treatment products with the right scientific data and regulations .
Why is it hard to regulate ? It ’ s been used widely in this region and yet to be regulated . It ’ s relatively a new technology . The research and development phase is lengthy , the trial and error is costly and more importantly , the education on stemcell alone is scarce .
We have to work closely with the National
Pharmaceutical and Regulatory Agency ( NPRA ) and Ministry of Health ( MOH ) in getting the framework , science data and guidelines right before the regulations can be enforced fully .
There are many areas where stem-cell can do that other drugs can ’ t . We need to prove this .
Researcher ’ s interest is always on cost efficiency , then we can look at the accessibility . We also have to outline what it will do to medical tourism ’ s economics and the government are putting in immense initiatives on this .
We ’ re not far off . Malaysia alone started in year 2000 , and the first laboratory was UKM in 2010 .
There are many laboratory that are currently running the R & D on stem-cell and in 2021 NPRA has passed the enforcement of stem-cell for human use amongst the practitioners .
What ’ s next ? Now we have to get the medical practitioners to be accredited , certified and qualified on the use of stem-cell .
Perhaps MOH , and with the help of local universities could initiate and offer a 2-week course on regenerative medicine for medical practitioners to be certified and qualified in the use of stem-cell .
It ’ s not just the doctors and medical practitioners , all research labs and manufacturers have to abide to a set guidelines . Like I said , it ’ s a long process . But , it ’ s near . I ’ m positive we will see the stamp of approval on regulations within the next 5 years for Malaysia . I ’ m hopeful .
What lies in the term stem-cell ? What do patients and the GP needs to know ? It ’ s a heavy education but it ’ s not complicated . What patients and users need to know it that it ’ s not simply a commercial beauty term .
Patients needs to know the technology , the scientific benefits , what it can and cannot do . Doctors will use them for cell therapy in cancer treatments and such . Exosomes will work well in corrective treatments and how each stem-cells and exosomes complement a particular therapy .
This is one topic I would love to talk about in series , in another topic .
6 ISSUE 4 | 2024 aesthetics . globalhealthasiapacific . com