In the Asia-Pacific region, doctors are essential drivers of medical innovation and healthcare advancement. They bridge cultures and healthcare systems, drawing on deep clinical expertise across diverse medical fields. Their visionary leadership fosters cross-border collaboration, promotes modernization in medical practice, and nurtures the development of local healthcare talent. However, skillfully combining traditional medical approaches with global best practices have become the need of the hour, today. With this, doctors must elevate the standard of care, strengthen international medical networks, and pave the way for long-term, sustainable improvements in public health across the region.
As the Director and Co-Founder of Adipolabs Healthcare in Malaysia, Dr. Isaac R. Joseph stands at the intersection of medical innovation, clinical precision and people-first leadership. Serving as the Chairman of the International Virus Research Alliance (IVRA) in Malaysia, Dr. Isaac has made significant contributions to the industry. Furthermore, with a clear focus on advancing cancer care through cutting-edge hyperthermia treatment, Dr. Isaac blends scientific rigor, sustainable healthcare solutions, and a deep commitment to patient impact - transforming a once-overlooked technology into a globally recognized modality.
Overcoming Challenges
Today, the flourishing pharma sector has immense growth potential and is progressing at an extremely good rate. But where there is growth, there are challenges as well. One of the biggest challenges for an up-and-coming pharma company is penetration of the market. The big pharma companies have an upper edge in the market, which they have established for years and wish to sell just their drugs and medicines. To break through this can be a very crucial challenge. This requires endless clinical data and studies to prove that the drug works, not just by itself but together with standard treatment.
When Adipolabs started, it faced a lot of blatant and blind negative feedback and comments as doctors stuck to their old and traditional ways of chemotherapy and standard treatment. So, to break this mentality and make them welcome a company took a lot of effort, wherein, Adipolabs pulled it off with immense hard work.
A Resilient Journey
Dr. Isaac’s journey began with uncertainty—unsure whether the global medical community, especially doctors, would embrace hyperthermia treatment. Despite this, he moved forward driven by belief and conviction. In 2017, Dr. Isaac stumbled upon the medical device hyperthermia—a cancer therapy device that had been around for forty or more years (primarily used in Europe and even more so in Germany)—along with its applications and use in South Korea. The device was only being used locally in South Korea and wasn’t being taken internationally. With a personal motivation after losing someone dear to him to cancer and wanting to improve cancer care, Dr. Isaac along with his partner worked with the Korean manufacturers and decided to bring the treatment to Malaysia.
Thus in 2017, Adipolabs Healthcare was established in Malaysia. He knew what it took to set up a medical company and knew that it would require licensing which would take an extensive process for two to three years, just for the device itself to be certified. At the same time, the team conducted a local clinical research study at the University of Malaya—Malaysia’s leading university— to validate the treatment’s efficacy in combination with conventional therapies, later supplemented by international clinical data.
The company’s approach was both clinical and product regulatory, with lots of investment made despite various uncertainties. Once licensing and trials were completed, the team began marketing in Malaysia, receiving a strong response.
Once patients began undergoing the therapy, the remarkable results spoke for themselves, offering clear proof of its effectiveness and motivating the team to expand beyond Malaysia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Adipolabs studied the application of the device on viruses, including the coronavirus, and began to see some positive outcomes which was further backed-up by hospital administrators. This led to the formation of IVRA (International Virus Research Alliance) and Dr. Isaac was appointed as the Chairman for Malaysia. When the alliance hosted its first international conferences in Korea, followed by Malaysia, over 300 doctors from around the globe attended.
Due to this positive momentum, Adipolabs expanded its global footprint by expanding to Malaysia across the Asia-Pacific Region, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, and now actively
seeking out UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and the UK. The device is still manufactured in Korea, but the Malaysian entity has taken the lead on international marketing, sales, support, and medical consultation.
In total, the company has made a significant role in educating doctors around the world on this advanced cancer treatment that can increase the efficacy of traditional treatments while at the same time lowering any side effects and preserving quality of life. Over a period of seven years, Adipolabs have been actively marketing this device across the globe. Today, the company hopes to change cancer care for people at the global front.
Rejection to Recognition
Malaysia’s unique cultural diversity presents its own challenges for business—especially for those not from the dominant communities therein. Dr. Isaac believes those challenges can be significant, noting that although Malays form the majority of the population, Chinese communities have dominated the business space for decades. For a small-time Indian entrepreneur, gaining acceptance in both the Chinese and Malay markets was tougher than expected, let alone the international medical arena.
“I still remember being shown the door by oncologists when I first spoke about hyperthermia. Today, those same doors are opening with invitations to demonstrate it in their hospitals. I believe that perseverance turns resistance into recognition,” states Dr. Isaac R. Joseph, Director and Co-founder at Adipolabs Healthcare.
Equally important to this journey is a belief in lifting others while rising. Dr. Isaac underscores the value of bringing his team and community along when success is achieved. Rather than staying isolated at the top, empowering those around you leads to sustainable growth and collective progress—a principle that has helped fuel Adipolabs’ expansion and long-term impact.
I will work hard and build my business now, but once I’ve earned enough to retire, my true goal is to give back—by setting up a center that offers free treatment to those in need. That’s the legacy I want to leave
Expanding Through Innovation
Starting a business requires basic pre-requisites such as who the competitors are and where does the company stand in the market and how to create a niche for itself. At Adipolabs, constant R&D takes place to stay updated with the current industry norms to provide better treatment and upgrade the devices to reach greater heights. This drives the team to always stay at the top of the market.
Furthermore, holding medical conferences twice a year has brought in multiple collaborations and helped build robust relationships with partners from all over the world. This acts as a tool of awareness and brings in more potential partners to take place in upcoming conferences, establishing new channels. This conference usually takes place in Korea or in Malaysia. The company recently finished one in Indonesia and Korea and is preparing for a conference in the Philippines in December.
Legacy Beyond Business
Having trained about 1,000 doctors, the next step for Dr. Isaac is to train 5,000 doctors and make sure that these 5,000 doctors will train another 1,000 doctors. With a goal to replicate success with this copy paste approach, Adipolabs wishes to expand and make the world a cancer-free ecosystem.
“I will work hard and build my business now, but once I’ve earned enough to retire, my true goal is to give back—by setting up a center that offers free treatment to those in need. That’s the legacy I want to leave,” signifies Dr. Isaac.
The Robust Future Roadmap
For the upcoming 5-10 years, Adipolabs wishes to expand its global footprint across the world and give back everything the company has earned back to society. Dr. Isaac concludes by stating, “To all the budding entrepreneurs out there, the only thing I can say is, if you fail once, it doesn’t mean you will fail every time. Failure is a lesson for you to be successful. Every setback is a new way of learning. So never give up. Learn from mistakes and move forward.”
Dr. Isaac R. Joseph, Director and Co-Founder, Adipolabs
Dr. Isaac R. Joseph, Director & Co-founder of Adipolabs Healthcare and Chairman of IVRA (International Virus Research Alliance - Malaysia), is a seasoned leader in healthcare innovation. Trained in Hyperthermia, Pain Management, Immunology, Nutrition, & Healthcare, he’s dedicated to advancing medical solutions. With a focus on cancer management and pain relief, he’s committed to global health empowerment.
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