KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): Bioalpha Holdings Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary Bioalpha International Sdn Bhd (BISB) has called off a deal it entered into in January to distribute Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia. 

In a Bursa Malaysia filing today, the group said it has mutually agreed to terminate the agreement with Shanghai Bukun Trading Co Ltd (SBTC) with immediate effect. 

Bioalpha said its directors and management are of the opinion that ther deal is not viable for the group.

"The termination is not expected to have any effect on the issued share capital and substantial shareholders shareholding of Bioalpha. It is also not expected to have any material effect on the net assets and earnings per share and gearing of the group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2021," it added.

On Jan 21, Bioalpha had announced that it has entered into a two-year agreement with SBTC for the procurement and distribution of vaccines in Malaysia, which include the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Co Ltd, subject to approval by the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Health and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

Under the deal, BISB was to purchase 100,000 doses initially from SBTC, with subsequent orders reaching up to a million doses. The vaccines were to be purchased on a "ready-to-administer" basis, which will not require further fill and finish processing, thus not incurring any cost to set up such facilities in Malaysia.

The group had also said that it would only need to finance the working capital for the project.

SBTC is a unit of Sinopharm (Hainan) Health Industry Co Ltd, which in turn is part of the Sinopharm Group Co Ltd or China National Pharmaceutical Group, the largest state-owned pharmaceutical and healthcare enterprise in China.

Bioalpha shares closed 4.44% or one sen higher at 24 sen today, valuing the integrated health supplement group at RM272.03 million.