Dental Asia May/June 2020

Under the Spotlight
to protect in Singapore, 200 in Malaysia, and
600 in China. One supplier that I was on the
line with initially said they had 700 boxes of
masks left. When I called back a minute later,
after checking with my team that the quality
is good for us, they had only 50 boxes left.
You could have heard the pounding of my
heart!” Dr. Ng recalled.
He eventually found supplies in Brazil, which
arrived in Singapore after going through
three flights. With more than enough to
last his staff through the ordeal, he and his
team of dentists donated 50,000 masks,
personally delivering them to 17 charity
organisations in Singapore.
The group also recently invested S$3
million to build COVID-19 test kits through
a joint venture with Dr. Ong Siew Hwa,
Ms. Zeng Weiyi, and Acumen Holdings, for a
51% equity stake in JV company, Acumen
Diagnostics Pte. Ltd.
Acumen Diagnostics will be mainly involved
in the manufacture, sale, and distribution
of diagnostic test kits for viruses such as
COVID-19, in Singapore and overseas.
It is also in the midst of setting up a
polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”)-based
laboratory in Singapore to analyse test
results. Additionally, it has plans to conduct
clinical trials, as well as manufacture, sell
and distribute vaccines, for viruses such as
COVID-19.
“The rapid escalation of the COVID-19
pandemic has called for a stepped-up
response from both the public and private
sector. We believe it is important for Q & M
to step in and help wherever we can, and
through our joint venture, we hope to do so
by ensuring the timely availability of good
quality performing test kits. This is not just
a business venture, but an opportunity to
assist in providing an essential capability
to Singapore in its continuous fight against
COVID-19,” said Dr. Ng.
Q & M has also indicated that it intends to
work with various agencies to deploy its
dentists in order to conduct COVID-19 tests
as needed. The group has purchased 20,000
Acu-Corona 2.0 % Tests for this purpose.
From cultivating himself to managing an
organisation and taking care of his staff,
Dr. Ng has shown how Q & M is the result
of a strong belief and everyone working
towards the same goal. The group is seeking
good working partners and opportunities in
Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand,
Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. It would
not be long before more communities will
have access to the multi-disciplinary and
holistic treatments that Q & M provides
under the good hands of its team of
specialists and dentists. DA
The training room at Q & M Dental Centre in City Square Mall, Singapore, is equipped with 10 units of dental training simulators;
each with a dummy head and a dental microscope
MAY / JUNE 2020 DENTAL ASIA 27