SHAH ALAM: The Institute for Medical Research (IMR) has been a beacon of excellence in the medical and biomedical sciences field in Malaysia, said Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
She said since its inception; the institute has been at the forefront of research efforts that shape the future of healthcare in our country.
"The Institute for Medical Research (IMR), which was founded in 1900, has a rich history of improving the local population's health and researching disease causes, treatments, and prevention.
"In 2003, it became an integral part of the Health Ministry, joining five other medical research institutions to create a robust research entity," she said in her speech at the opening ceremony of IMR's open day in conjunction with its 123rd anniversary.
Also present in gracing the opening ceremony was the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Tengku Permaisuri Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin.
She also attributed said IMR's success to its eight centres' dedication and collaborative spirit, supported by a workforce of 666 members from diverse service schemes and grades.
Zaliha said one of the institute's achievements was the research on Wolbachia, which is used to combat dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses in mosquitoes through injections into mosquito eggs.
"IMR's excellence and expertise in Wolbachia research have gained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO), establishing IMR as a key player in addressing the issues related to Aedes mosquitoes and the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases on a global scale.
"IMR has also been instrumental in developing the Global Information Hub on Integrated Medicine (GlobinMed), with the vision of becoming a reliable and up-to-date evidence-based information source on traditional and complementary medicine towards integrated healthcare."
She also highlighted the institute's key role in supporting pandemic control efforts, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Over 1.3 million polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have been conducted from January 2020 to May 2022 to identify Covid-19 cases.
"Moreover, as a leading biomedical research centre in the Health Ministry, IMR has also spearheaded research in developing two types of Covid-19 vaccines, namely inactivated virus vaccines and mRNA vaccines," she said.