IN the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian novelist Arundhati Roy referred to the pandemic as a portal. She searingly illustrated the inequalities of business as usual in India and presented a vision to imagine the world anew.
The development of vaccines and treatments for the Covid-19 virus offers us a similar insight into the present day.
On the one hand, the speed at which vaccines and treatments were developed for a novel virus will be remembered as a major scientific achievement already recognised with Nobel prizes for the discovery of RNA vaccines.
Yet, the Global South that encompasses most of the peoples of the world had to wait much longer to receive any vaccine, which for the most part were developed in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom.
For too long, the global majority has depended on expensive drugs and diagnostics from the Global North as if post-colonial ‘hand me downs’ can mitigate the growing challenges posed by illnesses.
This dynamic inevitably leads to higher healthcare costs, inaccessible treatments, and poor health outcomes for the majority of the world’s citizens. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
The Covid-19 pandemic illustrated the shortcomings of the status quo ante. Fortunately, the past few years have proven that Malaysia and more widely in South-East Asia, there is critical leadership in medical innovation and research.
The Health Ministry and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), in partnership with Thailand’s health ministry, Médecins Sans Frontières, Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Pharco Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaniaga Berhad developed ravidasvir, the first genuinely affordable treatment for Hepatitis C.
Before ravidasvir, Hepatitis C patients had to rely on other combination partners for sofosbuvir, with costs more than RM300,000 for a 12-week treatment. Ravidasvir’s 12-week course now costs about RM1,200.
The drug is well tolerated and has cure rates of up to 97%. The development of this effective and affordable drug is a huge step forward in eliminating Hepatitis C globally.
The ravidasvir breakthrough is an example of how bilateral and multilateral efforts can lead to innovation for the greater good.
It also showcases the enormous potential that countries like Malaysia, Egypt and Thailand bring to the global healthcare sector with knowledge and infrastructure supporting innovation hubs for medical advancements.
Malaysia’s commitment to this leadership is explicitly articulated in its New Industrial Masterplan (NIMP) 2030, a comprehensive seven-year strategy launched in 2023 to transform Malaysia into a regional economic powerhouse.
Under NIMP 2030, the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors are prioritised for growth through targeted policies designed to increase local production of essential medicines, biologics, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), vaccines, and halal medicines.
The plan sets ambitious goals to grow the pharmaceutical sector’s GDP value to RM2.5bil by 2030 while fostering advanced capabilities in niche areas such as high-value biopharmaceuticals and personalised medicine.
This integrated approach under NIMP 2030 positions Malaysia not only as a domestic producer of affordable healthcare products but also as a regional biopharmaceutical and medtech hub that supports health security and equitable access throughout Asean and beyond.
In response to the NIMP2030 mission and vision, Malaysia launched the International Affordale Diagnostic and Therapeutic Alliance (IA-DATA) earlier this year.
This initiative, supported through the Health Ministry and the Higher Education Ministry, aims to bring together academia, government, responsible industry and civil society to work on affordable diagnostics and therapeutics solutions for infectious diseases, cancers and rare diseases.
The programme centres around 3 main pillars: affordable point-of-care diagnostics, drug repurposing and plant molecular farming for affordable cancer drugs.
Effective scientific collaborations like the one that delivered ravidasvir are a strong basis for funding with collaborative initiatives that include institutions placed in the global North.
After all, the Global North has its own affordability challenges in healthcare and can equally benefit from the more pressing needs identified by partners in the Global South.
A good example of international cooperation is embodied in the Pan-Asean Coalition for Epidemic and Outbreak Preparedness (Pace-Up).
Pace-Up is a base for global health and pandemic prevention in Asia. It is a framework in which North-South and South-South collaborations can take place equitably.
For too long, research led by researchers and funding from the Global North was extractive rather than collaborative in nature.
But if we are serious about preventing future pandemics and fortifying global health, then equitable collaboration is key.
Doctors and researchers in South-East Asia have first-hand experience diagnosing and treating endemic diseases in their countries, and are primed to produce the best and most accessible solutions.
They can prioritise and lead research that also capitalises on appropriate technological innovations wherever they are taking place.
As the Malaysian breakthrough with ravidasvir shows us, partnerships and research happening outside the big pharma model leads not only to innovation but lower healthcare costs.
Treatment for Hepatitis C was previously out of reach for the majority of patients in the world. Malaysia and Thailand have changed the game with ravidasvir.
In 2023, the World Health Organisation (WHO) added the drug to its list of Essential Medicines. The WHO’s goal to eliminate Hepatitis-C by 2030 has become more achievable as a result. Lower healthcare costs translate into better health outcomes for everyone.
Nurturing initiatives like IA-DATA and Pace-Up, embedding healthcare into economic strategies such as NIMP 2030, and broader collaborations within Asean and BRICS can accelerate the discovery and delivery of medical innovations that impact underserved populations.
Instead of reminding ourselves of the lessons of Covid, we can lead on discovering answers to emerging and established threats to health.
