PETALING JAYA: The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has dictated the performance of the global economy for the majority of 2020. In the early days of the novel coronavirus outbreak, there were a number of companies that jumped on the glove-manufacturing bandwagon, and now with positive news on vaccine development, several more Bursa Malaysia-listed companies are entering the vaccine manufacturing and distribution business.
Making the list of Bursa-listed companies in the vaccine effort is Kanger International Bhd, which joined the foray in September via an agreement with Shenzhen Public Health Technology Co Ltd to secure a dealership/distributorship from China National Pharmaceutical Group Corp’s (Sinopharm) potential vaccine.
Since its initial announcement, the group has entered into two separate agreements with Zuellig Pharma Sdn Bhd and K-Star Sport Ltd for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia and subsequently received no objections by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) for the purchase of vaccine for private sector use in the country.
Similarly, Metronic Global Bhd entered into a memorandum of agreement with Taiwan-listed pharmaceutical company, Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp for its Covid-19 vaccine, via its subsidiary, Metronic Medicare Sdn Bhd.
Before the group can commence the distributorship, it has to secure a pharmaceutical good distribution practice certification with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency and register the product with the agency, which entails a full evaluation of the vaccine, including local clinical trials. It expects to submit the documents by 2022/2023.
From the vaccine, Metronic has projected an estimated gross profit of RM120 million to RM180 million based on a price assumption of US$50 per dose and an estimated industry wide gross margin of 20% to 30%.
Bintai Kinden Corp entered into a framework agreement for the development and commercialisation of the Ii-Key-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus vaccine in China with Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing Guoxin Haixiang Equity Investment Partnership and Beijing Youfeng International Consulting Co Ltd via its partner, Generex Biotechnology Corp in November.
Subsequently, Generex has signed a US$50 million licensing and development deal for the exclusive use of its vaccine platform technology for infectious disease and cancer in China and its territories.
Under the agreement , Bintai is granted exclusive rights to distribute, sell and commercialise the Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It also has the right of first refusal to commercially exploit the vaccine in New Zealand, Australia and the global halal market.
Ho Wah Genting has also ventured into vaccine play through its collaboration with US-based E-MO Biology Inc (EBI). In November, its vaccine received approval by the US Food & Drug Administration to begin phase IV clinical trials.
The group has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with China’s Xinkexian (Beijing) Biotechnology Co Ltd to appoint the latter as a non-exclusive manufacturer for the vaccine related to the Covid-19 virus, which is contingent on EBI’s successful completion of clinical trials.
DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd, too, is seen as a possible beneficiary of the vaccine development play, due to its long-term relationships with AstraZeneca and Pfizer, which are front runners in the global vaccine race. Given its established links with the two front runners, there is a probability that the group will be involved in its distribution when the vaccine becomes commercially available.
Similarly, government-linked counters, Pharmaniaga Bhd and Duopharma Biotech Bhd have been identified by the government as pharmaceutical players with the capacity to undertake fill-finish processing for any Covid-19 vaccine.
Given the scale of the pandemic, MIDF Research’s head of research Imran Yassin believes the vaccine will not be reduced to one or two types coming from one or two players.
“Here, we believe that it is a case of more is better. In terms of involvement, again we believe that there will not be one type of involvement which is the best,” he told SunBiz.
Imran opined that any involvement in the value chain will be critical as this is a health crisis, first and foremost.
