Join us for the in-person only PSI guest seminar on Thursday, 17 April 2025, from 11:00 to 12:00 at Seminar Room 0, BDI. We are delighted to welcome two distinguished speakers to share insights on healthcare initiatives in the Global South.
Our first speaker, Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi bin Abu Hassan, Director General of the Ministry of Health Malaysia, will take us through the inspiring journey of Malaysia’s Hepatitis C success story. In his talk, “Affordable Therapeutics Development in the Global South: Malaysia’s Hepatitis C Success Story,” Dr Radzi will share how Malaysia overcame the challenge of exorbitant treatment costs for Hepatitis C, ultimately bringing treatment from an unaffordable USD 80,000 down to less than USD 500. His presentation will focus on the collaborative efforts that led to the development of the antiviral Savidsvir, which has revolutionised the treatment landscape for Hepatitis C.
Our second speaker, Jean-Michel Piedagnel from the South-South Diagnostic Alliance, will discuss the importance of empowering endemic countries through initiatives like the South-South Diagnostic Alliance for neglected diseases and pandemic preparedness. In his talk, “Turning the Tables Around & Empowering Endemic Countries,” Jean-Michel will explore how cross-border partnerships within the Global South can strengthen diagnostics and improve preparedness for pandemics and neglected diseases.
Speakers biographies:
Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, Director General Ministry of Health Malaysia.
YBhg. Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan is a clinical gastroenterologist and the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Prior to this, he was the Head of Service of Internal Medicine in MOH, as well as Head of Department of Medicine and Clinical Research Centre at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah. He has a special interest in hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), preventive medicine and treatment access. He graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons (Ireland) in 1990, MRCP UK (1997), Master of Medicine (USM 1998), and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia.
Jean-Michel Piedagnel, Director of the secretariat for the South-South Diagnostic Alliance.
Jean-Michel has 25+ years of leadership in the not-for-profit sector, notably with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). He served as Director – South-East Asia for the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) from 2016 to 2024. He champions south-south collaboration and spearheaded the Dengue Alliance, a global partnership accelerating treatment development for this neglected disease. A key focus of his work has been scaling up access to Hepatitis C (HCV) treatments. Through strategic partnerships with governments, civil society, and pharmaceutical companies, Jean-Michel has facilitated significant progress in HCV treatment accessibility in the region. He now leads the South-South Diagnostic Alliance, a new initiative incubated by CRM since January 2025.
