Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 3, 2020 - August 9, 2020

EXPANDING the halal portfolio continues to be a priority for Duopharma Biotech Bhd as it seeks to distinguish itself from its peers.

Group managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar says the company aims to increase exports — which accounts for about 8% of revenue — primarily to the Asean region, particularly to countries with big Muslim populations such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The group currently exports to 27 different countries, including Africa and the Middle East.

However, for now, the focus remains on Asean, more specifically, the young Malay and Muslim segment.

“So, we are looking at how we can launch certain [halal] products on a pan-Asean basis. The products that have been successful here … [we can take the] same formula and do the same thing in Asean as well,” says Leonard.

To help increase awareness, Duopharma recently participated in a webinar held in conjunction with the World Halal Conference 2020 webinar series, which aims to put a spotlight on the halal pharmaceutical industry. The webinar was organised by the Halal Development Corporation (HDC) in collaboration with Duopharma and KPJ Healthcare Bhd.

According to Leonard, the webinar was aimed at addressing the vital need to build a stronger and more engaged community within the halal pharmaceutical ecosystem in order to enhance the Malaysian healthcare industry.

Malaysia’s global leadership, he says, serves to facilitate the successful entry of domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers into the global halal pharmaceutical market, which is forecast to be valued at US$134 billion by 2024.

He notes that the MS2424 halal pharmaceutical standard — which was first created in 2012 and recently revised in 2019 to include biologics and vaccines — is rapidly gaining universal acceptance and addresses the rising demand of those in search of halal vaccines.

“We’re also promoting knowledge because we are a firm believer that the system set up in Malaysia to receive accreditation for halal is probably the best in the world because it’s done by an independent government authority, it’s not expensive, and it’s the reason why the Jakim halal logo is almost the gold standard in the industry,” Leonard asserts.

According to HDC, Malaysia exported RM401 million of halal pharmaceuticals in 2019 compared with RM395 million in 2018.

Major export destinations in 2019 were the US, Singapore, Nigeria, Hong Kong and China. The products included halal medicinal pharmaceuticals such as health supplements, generic products and traditional herb-based products.

 

 

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