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INDUSTRY FEATURE

A stem cell

COMPANY

on CLOUD NINE

Wijenthiran Kunasekaran
Co-Founder/Director & Chief Scientific Officer of HOW DID IT START?
Cytonex Sdn. Bhd.
I always had an interest in stem cells and I started as a
ISO9001 certified BIONEXUS status research assistant (RA) in a stem cell project at Faculty of
company, recognised by the Malaysian Dentistry, Universiti Malaya in 2011. I mastered the
government to conduct R&D and scientific techniques in stem cell research in which I
commercialisation of stem cells and managed to publish a few Q1 and Q2 scientific articles and
natural compounds for therapeutic co-invented an optimised method for high yield stem cell
purposes. The company was founded with isolation from human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly for
the goal of commercialising science to clinical use, in which local and US patents were granted.
further fund our ongoing breakthrough Being jobless and homeless after my RA contract ended and
research with the hope to place Malaysia my only source of income was through teaching tuition
on the global map as a technology (merely RM1,200/month), I embraced myself, and
producing nation. Our primary business equipped only with knowledge and confidence, I started
strategy is utilising the medicinal benefits actively to look for investors by pitching my “stem cell
of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) project”. The entire process included pitching, convincing,
and its secretory nanovesicles in requesting for appointments, saving on my travelling
regenerative medicine to treat various expenses by sleeping in my car around the campus area and
diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA), getting ready for meetings by using shower rooms at the
diabetes ulcers, cardiovascular and residential college. I faced numerous rejections, humiliation
autoimmune diseases, to name a few. and disappointments until finally finding the right investor.
Cytonex is working together with other This took me 2 years. In 2016, Cytonex Sdn. Bhd. was
industry players, universities and incorporated and my life changed for the better.
regulatory agencies such as National
Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA),
Ministry of Health to implement a
standard regulation for all cell and gene
therapy (CGTP) products in Malaysia. With
regards to this, Cytonex is gearing up
towards conducting human clinical trial in
collaboration with Clinical Research
Malaysia (CRM), an agency under Ministry
of Health, Malaysia to ensure the safety
and efficacy of stem cells in treating
degenerative diseases.

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