Pharmaniaga expects to produce own halal vaccine in four to five years
KUALA LUMPUR: Pharmaniaga Bhd expects to produce its own halal vaccine in four to five years.
Deputy managing director Mohamed Iqbal Abdul Rahman said there is a potential to market the vaccine worldwide.
“We will produce our own vaccine after undergoing various preparatory programmes,” he said at the company’s third-quarter of 2020 results announcement and financial performance online media briefing yesterday.
Mohamed Iqbal said the halal vaccine project is making good headway, with approval received for the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine initiated with the Serum Institute of India Private Ltd, a leading Indian pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
Meanwhile, managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the development of the world’s first halal vaccine facility will be completed by 2022.
“We expect the facility in Puchong, Selangor to be the first halal vaccine facility in Malaysia,” he said.
On another development, Zulkarnain said preparations for the fill and finish process of the Covid-19 vaccine are progressing well. Pharmaniaga expects the Covid-19 vaccine, which is currently undergoing clinical trials in countries such as India and China, to be available in Malaysia in the first or second quarter of 2021, he said.
On the company’s outlook, Zulkarnain said the Covid-19 vaccine will spur the revenue of the group next year.
“We are in a good position this year and we also hope to expand our business in the private sector in 2021,” he said.
Yesterday, Pharmaniaga said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that its net profit leapt to RM1.44 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 (3Q20) from RM481,000 in 3Q19 on better demand for protective equipment.
However, revenue declined to RM624.8 million from RM716.85 million previously.