MALAYSIA – Novartis Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (NCSB) and Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) have formed the first ever scientific partnership to help Malaysians in improved cardiac care.
The cooperation is aiming to assist patients in managing their atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) through better treatment and medications.
The collaboration will see the two companies focus on key areas including research on generating data on ASCVD and evaluating the results of patients with ASCVD in Malaysia.
It also will create a cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary cardiovascular risk reduction clinic (CRRC) in order to optimize ASCVD care.
It also encompasses establishing IJN as an internationally recognized training center of excellence in ASCVD care.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and conditions like myocardial infarction and stroke are all examples of ASCVD, which are characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol plaque in arteries.
This pioneering collaboration between Novartis Malaysia and IJN is crucial as it could be a potential game-changer within the ASCVD treatment paradigm
According to data from the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH), cardiovascular diseases (CVD) were the leading cause of death between 1994 and 2001, accounting for between 23 and 26 percent of all fatalities.
Between 1985 and 2000, Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD) accounted for between 27% and 35% of all CVD-related deaths.
The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases increased dramatically throughout the course of a five-year research at University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur from 2000 to 2004 for all sudden natural deaths, with the figure reaching 64.9%.
According to Malaysia’s National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including ASCVD were responsible for 71% of the nation’s premature deaths.
As the leading cause of death worldwide, ASCVD is an indisputable global public health concern, according to Mohamed El-Wakil, country president of Novartis Malaysia.
He added that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 15 million people die from ASCVD yearly, accounting for 85 per cent of all cardiovascular deaths.
“This pioneering collaboration between Novartis Malaysia and IJN is crucial as it could be a potential game-changer within the ASCVD treatment paradigm” Mohamed said in a statement.
The long-standing cooperation between Novartis Malaysia and IJN also marks a crucial turning point in its scientific engagement.
The IJN-Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHF) Registry, which is widely disseminated, and the IJN Heart Failure Clinic are examples of past collaborations with IJN.
This collaboration, according to IJN Chief Executive Officer Datuk Dr Aizai Azan Abdul Rahim, is in fact timely given the rising prevalence of ASCVD.
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