MGRC acquires 51% stake in kidney dialysis operator

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Bhd is acquiring a 51% stake in kidney dialysis operator Aquahealth Sdn Bhd from Rinani Renal Bhd in line with efforts to diversify its healthcare offerings.

"This will be the first of many centres across the country that will be driven by a personalised kidney care model integrating dialysis with nutrition management, lifestyle changes, and even genetic testing of patients and their immediate family members.

"This pioneering approach will focus on bringing innovations in service delivery to improve the lives of patients with chronic kidney disease,” said Malaysian Genomics CEO Sasha Nordin in a statement.

He added that the acquisition will allow it to become the operator of a dialysis centre that Aquahealth is establishing in Gombak, Selangor, with a licence to operate the centre owned by the Malaysia International Islamic Chamber of Commerce.

According to Sasha, the expansion downstream to healthcare services through its subsidiary MGRC Healthcare is a step towards its growth as a diversified specialist healthcare group.

"The acquisition of the Aquahealth stake is part of our group’s strategy to secure a diverse portfolio of earnings accretive assets across Southeast Asia that will, in turn, leverage and benefit from our genomics and biopharmaceutical knowledge and experience developed over the past 18 years," he said.

The Ministry of Health’s Management of Chronic Kidney Disease reported that the number of Malaysians with kidney disease is projected to increase significantly in the future mainly due to the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and an ageing population.

At 13.2% per year, Malaysia has the second highest annual growth rate of chronic kidney disease in the world.