KUALA LUMPUR: DexCom, Inc., a global leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for people with diabetes headquartered in California, has chosen Batu Kawan Industrial Park, Penang as its third manufacturing site.
The new site, the first outside of the US, is anticipated to increase the production of Dexcom’s industry-leading CGM systems.
Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, in welcoming Dexcom into Malaysia’s medical devices ecosystem, said it was an excellent example of how global companies were making their decisions based on investment fundamentals.
“Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia remains an attractive investment destination due to its diversified economy and comprehensive ecosystem and these offer companies the potential to realise many business opportunities,” he said.
Azmin assured that Dexcom would benefit from the solid ecosystem backed by strong supporting industries, pragmatic investor-friendly business policies as well as global conformity-assessment bodies that are already present in Malaysia.
“We hope that Dexcom’s investment here will be a boost for leaders within the industry and its supply chain network to choose Malaysia as their investment destination,” he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).
He noted that the industry showed great promise in generating high-income jobs, building greater export value and reinforcing the domestic supply chain ecosystem.
“It will be a boon to our industry for new investments to support our local businesses through technology transfer and integrating our local vendors into their global supply chain,” he added.
Dexcom’s proposed manufacturing facility will potentially create significant job additions over the next 10 years, including roles in manufacturing, facilities management as well as manufacturing-related research and development (R&D), and will be designed for potential growth and expansion over time.
Dexcom executive vice president/chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Quentin Blackford, said the company recently made the decision to develop its third manufacturing site in the Batu Kawan Industrial Park to support its continued growth.
“The growing awareness of Dexcom CGM and our belief in the significant growth opportunity for our technology are driving the need for expanded manufacturing.
“This new site is supplemental to our existing manufacturing facilities and will help Dexcom meet the needs of global demand for CGM for years to come,” Blackford added.
With capabilities of producing high value-added and technologically advanced products such as cardiac pacemakers, stents, orthopedic implantable devices, electro-medical, therapeutic, and monitoring devices, Malaysia is well-positioned to be the manufacturing hub for medical devices in Asia.
As of 2019, a total of 402 medical devices projects with investments worth RM20.5 billion (US$5.6 billion) have been implemented in Malaysia and created more than 76,500 jobs for the country.
For 2019 alone, MIDA approved 31 medical devices manufacturing projects worth RM3.98 billion (US$0.97 billion). -Bernama
