KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 15): Pharmaniaga Bhd said the company on Saturday (Nov 13) marked its entrance into the vaccine international market by successfully exporting the first batch of Sinovac filled and finished Covid-19 vaccine to Myanmar, manufactured by its wholly-owned subsidiary European Union certified high-tech plant Pharmaniaga LifeScience Sdn Bhd (PLS).
The pharmaceutical company in a statement on Monday (Nov 15) said that in Myanmar, the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine will be marketed by Hemas Mandalar Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a Myanmar-based pharmaceutical company, which has placed an initial order of 200,000 doses of filled and finished Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine from Pharmaniaga.
According to Pharmaniaga, both companies recently have signed a memorandum of collaboration for Pharmaniaga to supply Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines to two private hospitals owned by Hemas Mandalar in Yangon, with the delivery made upon the approval of the vaccine by Myanmar's Food and Drugs Authority.
Pharmaniaga group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the collaboration with Hemas Mandalar would help to accelerate Myanmar’s private market vaccination programme.
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"We are pleased and grateful to have successfully delivered our first international delivery as well as our first batch of filled and finished Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to Hemas Mandalar. The total supply of 200,000 doses of vaccine will be delivered in a few stages starting Nov 13.
"This opportunity to collaborate with one of the leading pharmaceuticals companies in Myanmar will hopefully further strengthen our business relationship that has recently been established and perhaps develop successful new businesses by fully utilising both of our strengths in the future," he said.
Zulkarnain noted the export of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines gives confidence to Pharmaniaga to further explore similar opportunities in other Southeast Asia neighbouring countries and also the African countries.
"We are very excited with this international venture as the world has high regards for Malaysia that has an excellent track record in managing its vaccination programme, after achieving more than 90% vaccination rate of its adult population way ahead of schedule.
“We are also waiting for regulatory approvals in other countries, similar to the collaboration in Myanmar where the agreement had been signed much earlier, but the delivery is only made now upon approval,” he said.
To date, Pharmaniaga said it has distributed a total of 20.4 million doses of both finished and fill and finish Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines to 10 million or one-third (38.7%) of the population in Malaysia.
Shares of Pharmaniaga closed unchanged at 80.5 sen on Monday's market close, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.05 billion.