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Takeshi Morita Salmaan H Inayat-Hussain

Malaysia

updated Apr 20, 2010 by Nick Thorp

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Country Correspondent
Salmaan H Inayat-Hussain



Overview


View Malaysia in a larger map Legend: = Government Agency, = NGO, = University, = Professional Society, = Poison Control Center, = Toxic Site.

Malaysia's industries in the areas of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals are rapidly growing. Therefore, there is an increasing urgency for the toxicological safety assessment of these products. Some regulations are already in place in the country and certain regulations concerning toxicity testing are currently being discussed for mandatory adoption by the industries. As an example, in Malaysia the standard that has been accepted by the Industry Standard Committee on Medical Devices (ISC-R) was MS ISO 10993-3:2005, Biological evaluation of medical devices - Part 3: Tests for genotoxicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity. Other parts of the ISO 10993-3 biological evaluation of medical devices are currently being discussed for adoption to meet the goals of the Malaysia Medical Devices Act 2007.

The herbal industry is an important sector in the country where products developed include cosmetics, health foods and herbal pharmaceuticals. Universities and research institutions have been performing various toxicity testing and currently a committee at the Institute of Medical Research of the Ministry of Health is coordinating a global information hub on integrated medicine. In this committee, issues including the regulation of safety of herbal products are being discussed.

The release of hazardous waste into the environment has posed risks to the environment and to human health worldwide. Previous studies have indicated that waste water genotoxicity has significant effects to human health and therefore genotoxicity testing on waste water for safe human reuse is crucial. Recently, New Work Item Proposal DIN 38415-Part 3 and ISO13829:2000 -Water quality - Determination of the genotoxicity of water and waste water using the umu test has been proposed to the standards committee for discussion and possible adoption in Malaysia.

Establishment of the National Institute of Occupational, Safety and Health (NIOSH) has led to a better workplace and reduction in accidents relating to chemicals. Other governmental agencies including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation are working together to ensure that Malaysia's toxicology advancements are progressing well. Human capital development is also an important issue and many universities in the country are now introducing toxicology subjects at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

A version of this article was published in Information Resources in Toxicology, 4th Edition, Jamaludin Abu Bakar, Effendi Ibrahim, Mazlin Mokhtar & Michelle Alia Nunis, Copyright Elsevier (2009).

Government Agencies


Government Institutes


Non-Government Organizations


Universities


Professional Societies


Poison Control Centers


Miscellaneous Resources


Key Publications


Legal Links


About Malaysia


Multilateral Organization Contacts


Literature References from TOXLINE (Malaysia)

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