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From www.halaljournal.com Pharmaceutical It is the duty of a Muslim to produce halal pharmaceutical and medicinal products for the society. The Halal Journal learns from an interview with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad while some industry players reveal hard facts about gelatin use.
Muslims have to fully utilise their country’s resources if they want to be leaders in the pharmaceutical and medicine industry. At the same time, if they do not have the know-how to develop halal medicinal products, they should look for the means to acquire that knowledge in order to make them more competitive. That is the view of world-class leader and former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Malaysia, according to him, has a ‘tremendous potential’ to further develop the bio-technology industry. “We are among the richest [country] in terms of genes that can be utilised for various purposes. So if we do not do it ourselves, others may come in and pick up some of the things they can develop,” he says. “So we must make use of the resources in this country. That is why we promote this [bio-technology and pharmaceutical industry] because it is another source of wealth for the country”. Dr Mahathir, who was Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years since 1981, had spearheaded the bio-technology industry during his tenure. The industry was positioned to be an engine of growth for a society geared towards the sciences. Muslims are very particular about halal and haram issues, therefore if the industry can supply them with products that do not make them suspicious, it should do so. Many may term this obligation as fardu kifayah which is an ibadah or act, which will benefit the community and society at large. Dr Mahathir says Muslims too, on the other hand, should consume the halal products provided by the industry. “Of course when [the product] is not available, you may question whether the capsule [or medicine to be consumed] is halal or not, but when you are dying, you should not do so,” he says. Islam teaches us that life is important but when in an emergency – or darurat - and faced with a choice of life or death, the issue of whether a medicine is halal or haram is not of prime importance. “What is important is your life,” he says, adding that halal products need to be consumed if it is available. However, Dr Mahathir goes on to say that Muslims have a responsibility to make available and produce halal products while consumers in response, should support the industry by purchasing them. Malaysia may not have the full capacity to produce halal products yet, but if one feels very strongly about it, it is their responsibility to acquire the knowledge. “Go learn and open up a factory,” Dr Mahathir challenges. On what Malaysia can do to make its halal standards be accepted worldwide, Dr Mahathir says, when describing halal food, it should not be defined as ‘Islamic food’. “We should explain that the food or product is prepared the Islamic way. And it is very clean. Therefore people will take it,” he says. It is the same as Islamic banking where the banks lend out money the Muslim way. The non-Muslims have no problem accepting this. In fact, many non-Muslims are patrons of Islamic banking, he points out. The issue of halal or haram does not arise for non-Muslims as it is only a concern for Muslim clientele. Therefore if halal products are produced, it would benefit the manufacturer as he would not lose out on the non-Muslim market but would in turn gain the confidence of the Muslim market. There are several companies who have successfully produced and marketed halal pharmaceutical products in Malaysia. A perfect example is a halal vaccine for hajj pilgrims, produced by Finlay-Heber-Bioven Sdn Bhd. The Malaysian company, a subsidiary of Bioven Holdings Sdn Bhd, worked with the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Cuba to develop the vaccine to treat meningococcal meningitis. The collaboration, which will involve experts from Universiti Sains Malaysia and other local universities, is hoped to market the vaccine globally, especially to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference countries. Another company that has successfully produced halal pharmaceutical products is Halagel (M) Sdn Bhd, which is currently a leading supplier and distributor of halal gelatin ingredients for food and pharmaceutical manufacturers in Malaysia. Incorporated on August 19th, 1997, Halagel is the sole importer and distributor for halal gelatin, halal empty hard gelatin capsules and dicalcium phosphate, which is widely used in toothpaste. Its business development manager Muhammad Azhar Abdullah says, Halagel is the only company recognised by the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia and the Islamic Central Committee of Thailand for gelatin and empty hard gelatin capsules. “Many people may not be aware but gelatin is used in various products and is not limited to food or pharmaceutical products,” he says. Some of non-food and –pharmaceutical gelatin usages include photo film, paper and photogravure printing and x-ray film for photography and box making, paper manufacturing and fingerprinting for technical industries. More than 50 per cent of the total world’s production of gelatin are used in food manufacturing. The world population of gelatin production in 2002 is estimated at 270,000 metric tonnes. Some of the biggest producers are European countries, the US, South America and also Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and China. From this amount, 41 per cent of the gelatin is sourced from pigskin, 28.5 per cent from bovine hides and 29.5 per cent from bovine bones. “There are two types of gelatin - from pigskin and from bovine sources such as goats, buffaloes and cows. The former is preferred because it takes a month to process compared to the latter’s three months, therefore making it cheaper to produce,” Muhammad Azhar says. And this is where Halagel fits in. Its chief executive officer Mohamad Yakob Munshi Deen said Halagel’s objective is to provide halal alternative products to create halal alternative brands. In 2003 and 2004, Halagel imported 250 metric tonnes of gelatin and 200 million capsules in 2004 alone. “We have taken over 80 per cent of the gelatin market. There are still 20 to 30 per cent of non-halal products in the market,” he says, adding that consumer products from Thailand and Indonesia used gelatin from non-confirmed sources. Mohamad Yakob says Halagel not only hopes to create branding but also aims to manufacture their own soft gel and other alternatives for gelatin and capsules. The demand for halal pharmaceutical products is on the rise as the growing awareness amongst Muslims all over the world is growing on the use of gelatin and other non-halal contents in medicine and pharmaceutical products. Just as Muslims are beginning to demand for more halal food in various forms, they are also beginning to realise that halal encompasses more than just food items. It is the role and responsibility of Muslims to ensure there is supply of halal pharmaceutical and medicinal products in the market. The industry has shown it has the means to produce. It is just a matter of doing it in a larger scale to ensure the demand of the world Muslim population is met. © Copyright 2006 by halaljournal.com |
