KUALA LUMPUR -- In 1999, pediatrician Vorasuk Shotelersuk was tending the wards at a Thai hospital. A 5-month-old girl had just been admitted in such bad condition that the doctor feared "she would die in less than 24 hours."

Precision or personalized medicine based on analysis of patients' genomes is beginning to catch on in Southeast Asia. (Nikkei illustration)
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand doctors seek funds as COVID adds new hurdle