29 December 2023 — When the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck Malaysian shores in 2020, speed was of the essence — especially in diagnosing patients. Our creed has always been - “The sooner they are diagnosed, and diagnosed accurately, the sooner they got the care they needed.” During this time, Radilab Diagnostics Sdn. Bhd. (Radilab) was among the earliest private medical diagnostic laboratories to assist the government in providing RT-PCR screening tests to the public.
As a startup private medical diagnostic laboratory in Malaysia, Radilab was founded by Mr. Roslan Hj. Zakaria, an entrepreneur and Prof. Dr. Azizi Ayob, who’s conviction in affordable healthcare led him to resign from a comfortable senior position at a leading local university. Radilab is a testament to their commitment in providing accessible diagnostic services to the people of Malaysia.
Amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, Radilab played a crucial role in supporting Malaysia. As one of the earliest private laboratories to respond, they provided RT-PCR screening tests to more than 250 thousand Malaysians, including offering free screening to the B40 group through MAIWP and various other charity organizations. Their proactive involvement significantly contributed to the nation's efforts in managing and combating the pandemic. The services extended beyond Covid-19 screening, as Radilab continued to enhance its capabilities and collaborate with other organizations, making a positive impact on the healthcare landscape in Malaysia.
“What started as a vision to provide accessible diagnostic services to the people of Malaysia has evolved into a pioneering force in the healthcare industry — one which allowed us to give back to our country when they needed it most,” shares Dr. Azizi Ayob, Founder of Radilab, adding “Looking back, the leap from lecturing to entrepreneurship was a daunting one, but ultimately, one I’m glad I made.”
Currently, they specialize in advanced diagnostic testing and have evolved to offer a wide range of pathology services, including health screening services for over 200 clinics and other health practitioners across the Klang Valley. The laboratory is also actively engaged in collaborative efforts with various private entities in health research and technology. These include strategic partnerships with entities such as;
K2 Baseline in AI health research,
Digital Knight in improving E-lab functions,
CS Leaflabs in reproductive health research, and
IMU as the exclusive laboratory for the SEDIA Cohort (Seremban Diabetic Cohort Study), which involves more than 10 thousand program participants over 3 years.
Since its inception, Radilab has worked closely with the MRANTI Nexus, via the support of the Global Acceleration Program (GAP). The collaboration has been instrumental in shaping the lab’s trajectory, with the support and guidance received from MRANTI playing a pivotal role in Radilab’s commercialisation and IT facility enhancement, propelling its growth and competitiveness, while opening doors to strategic partnerships that contribute to their continuous growth.
A significant milestone stemming from this partnership would be the launch of the RADI-E. RADI-E by Radilab is a clinic and patient portal dedicated to providing innovative and accessible diagnostic services for the public. Beyond delivering online blood test results, the portal also provides individual patient analysis, early disease prediction, and health recommendations for doctors and patients alike, with more features to come.
Constantly striving to go above and beyond, Radilab continues to add to RADI-E’s capabilities, updating it to offer more features to help improve clinic other functions such as online test requests, accounting facilities, inventory management, telehealth services, and long-term patient treatment plans. Radilab aims to provide these capabilities for free to its panel clinics, in a bid to enable free control of their patients’ data and foster accessibility to other advanced diagnostic services provided by Radilab in future.
The establishment of RADI-E has been pivotal in Radilab's journey, demonstrating a commitment to technological advancement and making a positive impact on healthcare delivery.
Radilab is also opening opportunities for investors to join the medical revolution as they look to provide diagnostic services based on the capabilities and technology developed right here in Malaysia.
This article is provided by Elliot & Co.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
