We brought the frontier home — and refused to wait for it.
For over a decade, CityMedic has been driven by one stubborn belief: that Malaysians deserve the world's best healthcare technology, backed by honest clinical science — not years late, and not watered down. This is how a single glucose meter became a mission.
In 2011, the Malaysian medical market had a quiet problem. Innovation arrived late, if at all. Glucose monitoring was dominated by a few global giants, and the clinical education that should have guided healthcare professionals simply wasn't being done. Recalled products were still being sold; pharmacies were largely unaware of a US FDA safety alert about a glucose-meter enzyme — GDH-PQQ — that could produce dangerously false readings. In too many ways, the country was a dumping ground. We set out to change that.
A gap worth fighting
CityMedic began with an uncomfortable truth: Malaysia was too often the last stop for medical innovation — years behind developed markets, with glucose monitoring dominated by a few global giants and clinical education to healthcare professionals badly neglected. Recalled products still sat on pharmacy shelves; few were aware of a US FDA safety alert about the GDH-PQQ glucose-meter enzyme, which could give dangerously false readings in certain patients. We decided Malaysians deserved better, sooner.
Honest clinical sharing
We brought in GlucoDr from South Korea — then the best innovation available: gold electrodes, the safer GDH-FAD enzyme, and a wide hematocrit range. We went out to educate the market on the clinical data. Competitors, untrained on that science, called us fake. We kept teaching — and the evidence won. GlucoDr grew to command close to 65% of Malaysia's glucose-meter market. That fight crystallised our founding conviction: in healthcare, honest clinical sharing is everything. We've trained every salesperson on it since.
From one number to the full picture
When the market still screened with a single total-cholesterol reading, we popularised full lipid testing in Malaysia with SD LipidoCare. We overcame the early pushback on price the same way we always had — by leading with the clinical case. Today, close to 95% of pharmacy lipid testing in Malaysia runs on SD LipidoCare.
Building our own
We launched our house brand, INNOMED, to push innovation further. We introduced the first SmartPulse blood-pressure monitors — which measure during inflation, eliminating the over-inflation and discomfort of traditional cuffs — wrapped in elegant, professional design. We brought age-precise thermometer ranges to Malaysia, and created INNOMED Invegible, the first colourless, tasteless prebiotic drink for children.
First, and fast
When the pandemic arrived, CityMedic was the first to register and commercialise a COVID-19 home test kit — Gmate — in Malaysia. We scaled at speed, adding an antiviral ionic mask and eight thermometer brands to meet surging demand. Gmate went on to earn a BrandLaureate Best Brand award. It was a defining chapter for the company.
Spotting the next frontier
We saw the potential of Airdoc's retinal AI early. Although it had been in Malaysia for two years without gaining ground, we were able to mass-supply Airdoc across the country — and were recognised by Airdoc as its Best Partner in Asia Pacific.
In healthcare, honest clinical sharing isn't a tactic — it's the whole point.
Bringing AI diagnostics to Malaysian healthcare — the KPJ, Airdoc & CityMedic MoU.
Honoured by the brands we represent.
Father and son.
CityMedic is a father-and-son company. Working with family is never simple — but the steadfast discipline of Chairman Datuk Rigo Ong and the restless imagination of CEO Matthew Ong have, year after year, kept the company growing and pushing forward.
From a single glucose meter to AI that reads the retina, the throughline has never changed: bring Malaysia the world's best healthcare innovation, backed by honest science — from the lab, to the clinic, to the home.