KUALA LUMPUR: Novartis Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (NCSB) has partnered with Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) on the first-ever scientific partnership to help patients improve disease management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) through better care and transformative therapies.
In a first-of-its-kind partnership, the collaboration between Novartis Malaysia and IJN encompasses one of the most comprehensive collaborations featuring three key areas of focus, including research collaboration aimed at generating data on ASCVD in Malaysia and measuring the outcomes of ASCVD patients.
Secondly, the partnership also entails the establishment of a modern multi-disciplinary cardiovascular risk reduction clinic (CRRC) to optimise ASCVD care.
It also encompasses establishing IJN as an internationally recognised training centre of excellence in ASCVD care.
Novartis Malaysia country president Mohamed El-Wakil said the company recognises that ASCVD is an undeniable global public health issue and the world's number one killer.
He said the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 15 million people die from ASCVD yearly, accounting for 85 per cent of all cardiovascular deaths.
In Malaysia, the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 reported that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 71 per cent of premature deaths in Malaysia.
Of key concern among NCDs is ASCVD, which contributes to 54 per cent of all NCD deaths.
"Staying true to our purpose of reimagining medicines to improve and extend people's lives, we learned about our patients' journey and developed solutions to meet those gaps and needs in cardiovascular care.
"This pioneering collaboration between Novartis Malaysia and IJN is crucial as it could be a potential game-changer within the ASCVD treatment paradigm.
"It brings together the expertise and impeccable standards of care by the nation's premier cardiovascular specialist institution, IJN, together with the comprehensive experience of Novartis Malaysia in the area of cardiovascular," Mohamed said in a statement.
ASCVD diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are caused by high cholesterol levels hardening and narrowing arteries.
The scientific partnership also represents a significant milestone in the long-standing collaboration between Novartis Malaysia and IJN.
Past partnerships with IJN include the IJN-Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHF) Registry, published internationally, and the IJN Heart Failure Clinic.
IJN chief executive officer Datuk Dr Aizai Azan Abdul Rahim said this collaboration is indeed timely as the prevalence of ASCVD is increasing.
He also said that the Ministry of Health has just revealed the National Strategic Plan for NCDs 2016-2025, aiming to reduce NCD deaths from 20 per cent to 15 per cent by 2025.
"We are looking forward to our collaboration with Novartis Malaysia to achieve our goal of 'What Good Looks Like' in ASCVD care," he said.
To date, the partnership has already achieved its first milestone with the launch of the cardiovascular risk reduction clinic (CRRC).
The CRRC, hosted every Monday in IJN, will provide effective and aggressive lipid and CV risk management for patients with CVD and primary lipid disorders in optimising ASCVD care.
A systematic management protocol drives it with well-defined inclusion criteria and a checklist, led by a trained multi-disciplinary team comprising clinicians, nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists, and pharmacists.