MALAYSIA’S leading pharmaceuticals company, Duopharma Biotech Berhad announced recently that all the subsidiary companies under the Group, including its subsidiaries in Singapore and Philippines, achieved ISO37001. It is an international standard which recognises the existence of an effective anti-bribery management system.
The evaluation of the anti- bribery management system and certification of its compliance with the international ISO 37001 standard was carried out by SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd. Remarkably, not even a single Non-Conformance Report was issued by the auditors.
In 2020, Duopharma Biotech was the first pharmaceutical company in Malaysia to receive the Five Petal Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia (BEIM) Gold Ethics Award in recognition of its ethics and integrity initiatives. This reflects the five steps taken and recognises successful members with a Petal Award upon the completion and achievement of each step, and which was validated by the professional audit firm KPMG.
These latest milestones highlight the company’s ongoing journey to potentise a strong corporate culture permeated with ethics and integrity.
Delighted with these achievements, Duopharma Biotech Group Managing Director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar commented: “The ISO37001 achievement, together with the BEIM award constitute a further testament to Duopharma Biotech’s proactive commitment to promulgating a culture of ethics and integrity.
“Indeed, the board of directors and senior management team have long taken the lead in resolutely committing to engendering an ethical culture throughout the Group and remain committed to promoting the integrity and self- discipline of all its employees.
“This includes joining hands with all partners to create a fair, just, corruption-free and transparent business environment, striving to provide smarter solutions and trust everywhere.”
The ISO37001 certification plan, which commenced in early 2018, comprised a rigorous analysis of the relevant processes, procedures and activities of the companies subject to certification.
“To further formalise our culture of integrity and to align with the highest international standards, the Group has adopted a zero- tolerance stance against any fraud, bribery and corruption in the conduct of its business activities and integrity is one of its core values,” Leonard Ariff added.
Consistent with this commitment, Duopharma Biotech has established policies and guidelines, which include a series of Ethics and Integrity Policies, Corruption Risk Management and the Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policies, as well as its Whistle-blowing Policy.
The company has integrated this policy with the Guidelines on Adequate Procedures launched by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in December 2018.
The initiative aims to prepare to comply with subsection (5) of Section 17A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and additionally to the requirements of the ISO37001 Anti-Bribery Management Certification.
