Singapore: German company altona Diagnostics has officially launched ADT Biotech, its new Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Building on a strong history of biotechnology research, development and innovation, including experience at the renowned Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany, the founders of altona Diagnostics launched artus Malaysia in 2002, which was the key industry player for molecular diagnostics at the time and has achieved recognition by making the first diagnostic SARS kit available in the region.

ADT Biotech (altona Diagnostics) specializes in the development and commercialization of molecular diagnostic tests based on state-of-the-art real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. The clinically proven, validated and standardized assays amplify and detect pathogen-specific DNA or RNA and benefit healthcare practitioners by delivering reliable and reproducible results while increasing efficiency, turnaround times and removing ambiguity from many diagnostic procedures.

ADT Biotech is the culmination of over 20 years of innovative achievements and was conferred BioNexus status by the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), a special recognition awarded to qualified local and international companies responsible for spearheading innovations in the field of biotechnology.

"We are very excited to mark the establishment of a strong direct presence in the Asia Pacific region, in addition to our European and US offices, in order to expand our R&D capabilities and provide high level technical support and training to our customers in the region," said Dr Finn Zedler, managing director, ADT Biotech.

"ADT is confident with our choice of Malaysia as the Asia Pacific regional headquarters due to its scientific achievements and unique collaboration opportunities with leading Malaysian institutions in this field, as well as a conducive and dynamic business environment and a solid platform for our regional activities, in addition to the impressive level of support and dedication extended by BiotechCorp," he added.

"BiotechCorp is constantly seeking to validate and recognize companies such as ADT Biotech which bring a wealth of innovation, as well as research and development capabilities which benefit not just Malaysians but the global community," said Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, Chief Executive Officer, BiotechCorp. "Altona Diagnostic's global reputation and expertise in developing fast and accurate solutions for infectious disease detection, focusing on emerging pathogens, is admirable and we look forward to continuously support their activities as a BioNexus status company."

Dr Ulrich Spengler, founder of Altona DIAGNOSTICS, Germany, added, "As a pioneer in molecular diagnostics and the commercialization of real-time PCR, we look forward to working closely with Malaysian talent to make this technology more accessible to healthcare practitioners here in this region. Our collaborations with Malaysian institutions will be especially significant in global efforts such as our recently-announced strategic partnership with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine to develop a specimen bank dedicated to tropical and rare diseases. Malaysian expertise in this area would be invaluable and mutually beneficial exchanges of knowledge such as these bear great promise for the future."