Kuala lumpur: Malaysia is increasingly recognised not only as a recipient of medical innovation but also as a contributor to global research, shaping the future of care for serious chronic and rare diseases. Leading global healthcare company, Novo Nordisk, said this came as the country continued to face a growing burden of long-term health conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, rare blood disorders and endocrine disorders.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023 reported that 54.4 per cent of adults in Malaysia are living with overweight or obesity, while 15.6 per cent had diabetes, 29.2 per cent had hypertension and 33.3 per cent had hypercholesterolaemia. Globally, it said the challenge is equally pressing, with about 589 million adults living with diabetes, more than one billion people living with obesity, over 500 million people affected by cardiovascular disease, while chronic kidney disease affects hundreds of millions worldwide.
By 2035, nearly four billion people, or about half of the global population, are expected to be living with overweight or obesity, it said, adding that addressing these challenges requires moving beyond laboratory discovery to build end-to-end clinical research ecosystems. Novo Nordisk Vice President of Trial Operations for ALAMP (Asia, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Pacific), Raman Shetty, said research must prioritise patients' true health needs from the outset.
'A promising scientific idea must be tested rigorously long before it can be meaningful for patients. Clinical research is how science earns the evidence needed to move forward responsibly,' he said. While trial execution speed is vital to prevent unnecessary delays in getting treatments to healthcare systems, ethics, safety and data quality cannot be compromised.
'In clinical research, speed must mean efficient, high-quality execution. It must not mean shortcuts,' he said. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk said having hosted Novo Nordisk trials since 1999, Malaysia was officially designated as a Clinical Development Centre (CDC) hub in 2024, coordinating studies across Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
The CDC hub connected local patients and investigators to global clinical programmes targeting diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular conditions, chronic kidney disease, rare blood disorders and endocrine disorders. Across the three nations, Novo Nordisk has facilitated roughly 40 clinical trials involving 300 study sites and 1,000 participants, backed by a RM49.7 million investment in Malaysia alone between 2023 and 2025.
Meanwhile, Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM) Lead of Business Development, Asha Thanabalan, said Malaysia's growing visibility is attributed to its experienced investigators, strong government support, diverse participant demographics and robust ethics and regulatory frameworks. 'Malaysia's role in global clinical research is not only about hosting trials. It is about strengthening capability, creating opportunities for local investigators and contributing to evidence that can support better healthcare decisions over time,' she said.
She added that through active participation in global research, Malaysia aimed to transition from merely adopting external medical advancements to actively generating the scientific evidence that defines modern healthcare.