20/04/2012 (The Star) - Malaysian businesses can start bidding from today for locally developed innovations that have the potential to yield up to RM1bil in revenue.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak unveiled the 42 commercially ready products that have been developed under the Innovation Business Opportunities programme.

They range from a disease-resistant chili to larvacide to control mosquito-borne diseases, from a biosensor to diagnose specific infections to lumber made from oil palm, from a rice cooker that automatically drains excess starch to a body armour made of coconut fibre, kevlar and glass; and from a high quality cross-bred rice suitable for diabetics to a pendant system that mounts all or most medical equipment used to treat patients.

The products were developed by a collection of local companies, universities and research institutes and selected by Agensi Innovasi Malaysia based on the potential for commercialisation.

The Prime Minister said the products could collectively bring in an estimated RM1bil by the third year of marketing.

“This is just the starting point,” he said when launching the programme in his office here yesterday.

“The programme offers local companies the chance to harness the power of innovation to gain an edge in their business while helping to monetise the many projects developed locally. This is in line with the Government's efforts to reinforce innovation.”

While the programme was aimed to promote the culture of competitive bidding in the private sector, Najib said the Government could consider providing support in terms of loans and certain incentives.

The Prime Minister had announced innovation initiatives on April 19 last year to attract investments and develop the nation's intellectual wealth.

AIM chief executive officer Mark Rozario said there were no specific financial incentives for companies wishing to put in a bid, the intention being to make the programme entirely private sector-driven.

The list of products up for bidding will expand as more innovations are developed, and it will eventually be open to international bidding.

The list is open to only local businesses for a month from today, after which any company can make a bid regardless of its base.

Rozario said the bids would be assessed according to merit.

The list of projects up for bidding will be advertised in all major newspapers. It can also be downloaded from the AIM corporate website - www.innovation.my.

List of 42 bids under the Innovation Business Opportunities (IBO):

1. ChiliBangi- Disease resistant variety, has predictable hotness, long shelf life and suitable for economical farming for higher yield.

2. Red Seaweed for Pulp and Bioethanol - Large-scale red seaweed sea farm system to create pulp for the paper industry and bioethanol.

3. Grayns-Innovative Rice Cooker - Rice cooker that automatically drains excess starch from rice when it is cooked for a convenient way to cook healthy rice.

4. Point of Care Diagnostic Using Biosensor Technology- Helps identify specific infections within 20 minutes, relying on aSurface Acoustic Wave Chip that uses acoustic waves to measure microorganisms.

5. Mousticide (trademark) - Novel Super Larvacide for Mosquito Control- Used to control dengue, malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. Plans in progress to register with the World Health Organisation Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES).

6/ Non-Starch Polysaccharide - Non-starch polysaccharide-based treatment for diabetes, refined into a medicine or used as an additive for foods. To be used in combination with insulin.

7. Rice Plant Variety - Oryza- Higher quality rice variety developed by cross-breeding commonly cultivated breeds in Malaysia with a wild breed. Higher yield and low glycemic index, suitable for diabetics.

8/ Oil Palm Bio-Mass Based Engineered Lumber- Strong, durable and reliable engineered lumber made from oil palmplantation biomass.

9. Torrefied Acacia Wood- Highly efficient and cost effective torrefaction method for Acacia wood to produce biofuel.

10. C.D. Diarrhea Test Kit- Non-invasive test kit to detect Clostridium difficile (C.D.) toxins infecal specimens of diarrhea patients.

11.- Personalised biosensor that will allow doctors to more accurately determine the amount of cancer cells present before and after chemotheray.

12. Coconut Body Armour - Mix of coconut fibres, Kevlar and glass to produce cheaper and lighter body armour without compromising effectiveness.

13. Biopesticide for Control of Mosquito Larvae - An optimised bioprocess for the mass production of a local isolate of mosquito-killing bacterium, Bacillus sphaericus (Bs). An effective alternative to chemical insecticides.

14. Mosquito Repellant Gel - A DEET free (Diethyl-meta-tolumide) gel-based natural mosquito repellent,for use in tropical climates.

15. Tuberculosis Diagnostic- A combination of small devices and test strips, known as a lateral flowimmunoassay to detect Tuberculosis.

16. Tetracycline Biosensor Test Kit- A rapid and low-cost test kit to detect Tetracycline, an antibiotic commonly used in livestock to increase growth and final meat output.

17. Polyols- A process for preparing natural oil polyols from palm oil, palm kernel and other natural oils such as coconut and soybean oils to produce polyesters and polymides suitable for manufacturing polyurethane materials.

18. Pink Guava Fibre Sources- A process for converting pink guava by-product into dietary fibre in the form of powder or milk.

19. QMAP Digital Based Map in Precision Farming - A low-cost digital mapping technique for rapid field plot generation and analysis.

20. Greenfinity Solar Charger- A solar portable charger that can effectively use solar energy to charge mobile phones, GPS, cameras, laptops and other consumer devices.

21. Whitesteg Steganographic Application- A stand-alone, highly secure steganographic software application using both steganography and cryptography techniques to enable users to communicate via a public communication channel.

22. KieVision - Reading tool to detect a child's reading ability - An online screening tool and portal that helps detect reading problems among children.

23. AsarFonts - Writing Software for Islamic and Arabic Studies- A font set consisting of standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Traditional Arabic, Jawi and Arabic transliteration letters.

24. SARTAMS - Search and Rescue Tactical Management System- A computing and communications management system using commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software solutions, through the use of network-centric and global position systems to improve search and rescue operations.

25. Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Assembly- A demonstration assembly/kit that can be used as an educational tool to assist students in understanding how a fuel cell works.

26. UPSI MyGuru- An internet and intranet portal designed for students and academics to share information across faculties, among individuals and support online and collaborative teaching and learning.

27. FaceBARS - Biometric Access and Recognition for Security- A low-cost PC-based security verification system that uses face recognition algorithms.

28. MyTenna- An antenna that is much smaller than conventional designs but with a much stronger signal.

29. Low Profile Satellite Antenna 1- A flat antenna design that can be substituted for traditional parabolic antennas in scenarios where aesthetics and compactness are important.

30. Wax Ester- A low-cost method of synthesising wax ester using low-cost palm oil derivatives to create plasticisers, mould release agents, emulsifiers, chemical intermediates and printer ink toner.

31. TAL Rapid Test Kit - A test kit that uses the blood from horseshoe crabs to screen medical equipment to make sure it is not infected with endotoxins. The blood is extracted using non-invasive methods on horseshoe crabs.

32. Low Cost PCR Diagnostics- A low-cost high-speed PCR testing kit, designed especially for emerging markets to examine DNA.

33. BRIM Pelvic Binder- A new design Pelvic Binder, effective in minimising internal bleeding in Pelvic trauma cases and instrumental in saving lives.

34. Copepod Aquaculture Feed System - An advanced feed system using copepods, which are near-microscopic organisms, to feed shrimp larvae and commercial fish and fish fry raisedvia aquaculture.

35. Koi Herpes Test - A test kit to detect Koi Herpes Virus, a highly transmissible disease that can ruin entire fish crops.

36. Salmonella Paratyphoid Fever PCR Test - A PCR diagnostics test for detecting S. paratyphi A., a salmonella bacteria responsible for Paratyphoid fever.

37. HUKM Integrated Resuscitation Pendant System (HIREPS) - A medical pendant system that mounts all or most medical equipment used to treat patients, allowing greater accessibility to the equipment while minimising space requirements.

38. Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) - An improved technique for packaging micro electro-mechanical systems, that is economical, simple and works at low temperatures.

39. Bioplastics - Commercialisation of novel and innovation technology in producing PHA, PLA and PH-LA bioplastics from palm oil and sago starch, for use in various consumer and industrial sectors.

40. 8-Axis Tool and Cutter - Developed primarily to grind and cut micro tools, cutters, probes and pins to +2 micron accuracy, with 8-axis configurations for higher complexity of parts.

41. Carbon Fibre Production Capability - Expertise in the various processes of carbon fibre manufacturing.

42. Rice Husk Composite Material - Converts rice husk into novel composite material that can be used as a substitute for hardwoods to build furniture and similar products.