Category Archives: 2022 Events

30 November 2022 – AMMI Q4 Progress Meeting

Penang, 30 November 2022 –  Thirty AMMI members attended the AMMI Q4 Progress Meeting and Updates at Ascott Gurney Hotel.  AMMI Chairman, Mr Andy Lee welcomed all to the meeting. First up was the introduction by new member, Dexcom. This was followed by updates from AMMI committees – Government Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Talent Development, Operational Excellence and Membership & Industry Development. Before the session ended, AMMI Executive Director, Mr CS Ching updated members on upcoming events and training. After the meeting, members adjourned upstairs for the AMMI Networking Cocktail Session and Gala Dinner.

1 December 2022: Malaysia MedTech Industry Summit

Penang, 1 Dec 2022 – The Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) organised its inaugural Malaysia MedTech Industry Summit  in conjunction with Penang’s 50th Anniversary of Industrialization, supported by Penang State  Government, InvestPenang, Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).

The objective of the event was to serve as a platform for local suppliers to connect with medical device manufacturers. The summit saw many presentations and best-practice sharing sessions.

Mr Andy Lee gave the Welcome Remarks, followed by the Keynote Speech by Penang Chief Minister, YAB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow.  The first half of the summit saw presentations by Ms Lim Bee Vian (Deputy CEO, Investment Development MIDA) and Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon (Special Investment Advisor to CM) on Creating a Robust MedTech Ecosystem. 

Here is a recap of the other topics in the morning session.

Improving Manufacturing Excellence Industry-Wide

Speakers:
1. Sayron Ruiz, Director, Manufacturing Engineering, Boston Scientific Penang
2. Michel Van Crombrugge, AMMI Treasurer/ Leader of  AMMI OpEx Committee; Country Manager, Paramit.TECAN
3. Dato’ Hans Brenner, AMMI OpEx, Committee Member; Director, KLS Martin Group
4. Ms Hawwa Nouay, Director, Operational Excellence, B. Braun Medical Industries

Sustainability in MedTech Manufacturing and Outlook

Speakers:

  • JC Guillou,  AMMI Board Member;  VP, Global Operations & Sourcing, Gloves, Molnlycke Health Care
  • Elmar Friesnegger,  AMMI OpEx Committee Member; VP Central Functions Plant Operations, B. Braun Medical Industries
  • Gogielan Nantha Kumar, Deputy Director, Green Technology Division, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)

Panel Discussion: Building the Talent Pipeline and Creative Retention Strategies in the Medical Device Industry

The panel discussion was moderated by Ms Tan Lin Im,  AMMI Talent Development Committee Co-Leader; APAC Regional Senior HR Director, Teleflex Medical. Panel members were:

  • Jason Ng, AMMI Government Affairs/RA/ OpEx Committee Member; Manufacturing VP, UWHM (UMediC Group)
  • George Kazzi, General Manager – Malaysia & Philippine, Head of Commercial Excellence India/SEA, Baxter International Inc
  • Ir Dr. Nasrul Anuar Abd. Razak, Head of Biomedical Department, University of Malaya
  • Joyce Ong, HR Director, Boston Scientific Penang

Supply Chain Session: Achieving Supply Chain Resilience: Strengthening Medical Device Ecosystem

Dato’ Loo Lee Lian, CEO of Invest Penang gave the Opening Remarks for the afternoon session.  The session was created for the medical device companies to share their latest sourcing requirements and parts that they would like to localize in Malaysia.  Boston Scientific, Cochlear, Dexcom, Smith & Nephew, Tako Astatic Technology and Japan Lifeline (JLL Malaysia) shared about their companies, products and supply chain needs.  The evening ended with Networking Cocktail Session for the attendees.

30 November 2022: AMMI Gala Dinner

Penang, 30 Nov 2022 –  208 members and invited guests  attended the AMMI Gala Dinner 2022 held at Ascott Gurney Hotel . Guest of Honour for the event was Ms Lim Bee Vian, Deputy CEO, Investment Development, MIDA.  The theme of the night was all about appreciation and recognition with key highlights being the AMMI Awards Presentations. It was indeed an evening of camaraderie and  medical device industry networking.

Here is a recap of the awards and recipients…

AMMI ESG Recognition Award
As climate change, social issues, and corporate integrity challenges loom, it is more important now than ever for companies to embrace ESG as an integral part of doing business globally.  AMMI takes the opportunity to acknowledge members’ efforts in ESG initiatives and hopefully inspire many others to follow suit.

  • Ambu – represented by Mr Lee Choon Hooi, Senior ESG Engineer
  • B. Braun Medical Industries – represented by Mr Graham Rice, VP, Procurement Asia Pacific
  • Biocon – represented by Mr Ridzwan Raja, Site HR Head
  • Boston Scientific – represented by Mr Fearghal Hennessy, VP Operations
  • Greatech – represented by Dato’ EK Tan, Co-Founder and CEO
  • Molnlycke – represented by Mr  HS Lee, Director and Finance Manager
  • Paramit.TECAN – represented by Mr Michel Van Crombrugge, AMMI Treasurer/ Leader of AMMI OpEx Committee; Country Manager of Paramit. TECAN
  • Smith & Nephew – represented by Mr Mark Arthun, Managing Director & Site Leader
  • Teleflex – represented by Mr Muneswaran Gandhi, Plant Manager

AMMI Talent Development Recognition Awards
Talent Development is a Key Pillar in AMMI’s Strategic Roadmap 2025. This award is given to acknowledge members who have actively participated in AMMI Public Training in 2022.

  • Ambu – represented by Ms Alice Tan, Senior HR Manager; AMMI Talent Development Committee Member
  • B. Braun – represented by Ms Azura Roslee, Early Career & Talent Acquisition Manager
  • Teleflex – represented by Ms Tan Lin Im, APAC Regional Senior HR Director; AMMI Talent Development Committee Co-Leader

AMMI Global Expert Sharing Appreciation Award
AMMI appreciates members who have contributed to knowledge sharing through their industry/ global experts and hope many more members will come forth to do the same.

  • DuPont – represented by Mr Eng Boon See, Business Development Manager
  • STERIS – represented by Mr Suwit Tunlayadechanont, Regional Director

AMMI Sponsor’s Appreciation Award were also presented to:

  • Platinum Sponsor
    • Boston Scientific, represented by Mr Fearghal Hennessy, VP Operations
  • Gold Sponsors
    • B. Braun Medical Industries, represented by Mr Lam Chee Hong, AMMI Board Member and President, Asia Pacific, B. Braun Group
    • Cochlear, represented by Mr Samuel Pooranakaran, AMMI Vice-Chairman and VP Manufacturing Malaysia, Cochlear
    • Dexcom, represented by Mr Columba McGarvey, Vice-President, APAC Operations
    • Johnson & Johnson, represented by Mr Andy Lee, AMMI Chairman and Director Government Affairs & Board of J&J Malaysia.
    • Molnlycke, represented by Mr JC Guillou, AMMI Board Member, and VP, Global Operations & Sourcing, Gloves, Molnlycke HealthCare
  • Silver Sponsors
    • KLS Martin, represented by Dato’ Hans Brenner, CEO
    • Paramit. TECAN, represented by Mr Michel Van Crombrugge, AMMI Treasurer/ Leader of AMMI OpEx Committee; Country Manager of Paramit. TECAN
    • SteriPack, represented by Mr John Ward, AMMI Vice-Chairman and VP/GM Pharmaceutical Solutions, SteriPack
    • Tako Astatic, represented by Mr Aaron Kow, Executive Director
    • Texchem Life Science, represented by Dr Yuma Konishi, AMMI Board Member and Executive Director, Texchem Group

14 November 2022: MIDA- AMMI Release of AMMI Medical Device Industry Status and Outlook 2021/2022 Report

From left: Ms Azlina Hamdan, Director of MIDA Life Sciences & Medical Technology Division; Ms Umarani Muniandy, MIDA Executive Director (Manufacturing Development -Resource); Yang Berbahagia Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, MIDA CEO; Mr Andy Lee Kuan Min, AMMI Chairman; Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Seri Dr Haji Haminnuddin, AMMI Secretary-General; Mr Michel Van Crombrugge, AMMI Treasurer.

14 November 2022, Penang – The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and the Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) today released the AMMI Medical Device Industry Status and Outlook 2021/2022. The report highlighted that the Malaysian medical device industry demonstrated remarkable resilience despite COVID-19 pandemic challenges.  AMMI Chairman, Mr Andy Lee presented the report to MIDA CEO, Y.Bhg Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman during the joint MIDA-AMMI press conference.

5 October 2022: AMMI and YB Minister of Health

From left: Mr George Kazzi, General Manager, Baxter Malaysia; Y.Bhg. Dato’ Zamzuri bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Secretary General (Finance), MOH; Ms Aida Basri, Government Affairs & Market Access Lead, Medtronic Malaysia; Mr CS Ching, Executive Director, AMMI; Y.Bhg. Dato’ Seri Dr Haji Haminnuddin bin Haji Abd. Hamid, Secretary General, AMMI; Mr Andy Lee, Chairman, AMMI; YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Health; Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, Director General of Health; Dr Mohd Emil Azril Bahari Md Noor, General Manager, Government Affairs & Market Access, B. Braun; Mr Samuel Pooranakaran, Vice Chairman, AMMI.

Putrajaya, 5 October 2022 –  AMMI Chairman Mr Andy Lee led Board members and Government Affairs Committee members to make a courtesy call on YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Health, today, 5 October 2022.  The meeting was attended by the Top Management of the Ministry of Health (MOH), including Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, Director General of Health, Dato’ Zamzuri bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Secretary General (Finance), MOH and Mr Ahmad Shariff bin Hambali, Chief Executive, Medical Device Authority. YB Minister of Health, Top Management of MOH and Chief Executive of MDA responded positively to our proposal to improve the Medical Device Act (Act 737) to:-
  • Include renewal/re-registration clause, which specifies auto-renewal for medical device registration (product registration);
  • Confine the post-market surveillance & vigilance requirement to local cases only;
  • Exclude the export of medical devices from the scope of the Medical Device Act.
At the end of the meeting, AMMI Chairman Mr Andy Lee presented a mock cheque of RM250,000 to YB Minister of Health to signify our contribution to MOH’s Covid-19 Fund (Sumbangan Perubatan KKM) on 9 March 2022 during the Omicron wave.
Note: The donation of RM250,000 to support the public healthcare system to fight against COVID-19 was approved by AMMI members in the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on 28 October 2021.