KUALA LUMPUR:Phamaniaga Bhd has the capacity to manufacture two million doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd per month beginning March this year.
Group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the vaccine would be the first to be manufactured in Malaysia at the small volume injectable high-tech plant owned by Pharmaniaga's wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmaniaga LifeSciences Sdn Bhd, in Puchong.
He said the group would invest RM3 million to retrofit the plant to enable the production of the vaccine.
"We are very confident in carrying out the task successfully because our technical experts have been working on the setting up of a halal vaccine plant in Malaysia since 2017.
"When the COVID-19 spread around the world early last year, we immediately chanelled our team to work with our global partners, including Sinovac on the fill and finish manufacturing activity and technology transfer to speed up the availability of vaccines against the pandemic," he told reporters after the signing of an agreement between Pharmaniaga and Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd today.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Pharmaniaga is set to carry out the fill and finish of COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Life, which is expected to be ready to be distributed to the public by end-March 2021.
The agreement is for the supply of 14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to be carried out for fill and finish activity.
Pharmaniaga has been engaging with the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) to ensure that its plant continues to be in high compliance of regulatory requirements.
Zulkarnain said the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine has completed the phase three trials in Brazil and Turkey, and is now in the process of getting approvals in both countries.
"Currently, we are in the discussion with NPRA for registration and they have been very supportive on this project, thus we are confident to manufacture and have the vaccine ready to be distributed to hospitals by end of March 2021," he added.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the agreement between Pharmaniaga and Sinovac was a private initiative.
"We have facilitated this because we have given an indication to Pharmaniaga that we are interested in the Sinovac vaccine.
"Now the government's procurement (of) part of it, hopefully, will be concluded by next week," he added.
Khairy assured that the vaccine programme for COVID-19 would be carried out within the first quarter of 2021.
"We are not too late and too early. We can design our immunisation programme that can reduce a lot of wastage and it will be rolled out as efficiently as possible," he added.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama
Tue Jan 12 2021
A display shows packages of vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2 by Sinovac Biotech during a government-organized media tour showcasing the company's development of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine candidate in Beijing, China, September 24, 2020.
Provinsi Hainan, 'Hawaii China' yang tidak pernah tidur
Keunikan seni bina warisan serta khazanah sejarahnya dari Tembok Besar China, monumen Tiananmen mahupun Kota Larangan membuatkan pelancong seluruh dunia berpusu-pusu datang.
Angka korban rakyat Palestin di Gaza hampiri 35,400 orang
Sekurang-kurangnya 35,386 rakyat Palestin terbunuh dalam serangan berterusan Israel di Semenanjung Gaza sejak 7 Okt tahun lepas, kata Kementerian Kesihatan di wilayah yang terkepung itu pada Sabtu.
Dua wanita Vietnam cedera cuba lari pemeriksaan imigresen
Insiden itu berlaku di sebuah pusat hiburan iaitu daripada keseluruhan 12 premis yang diperiksa semasa operasi dijalankan JIMNS di sekitar Seremban dan Tampin.
PM Anwar saksikan pertukaran enam MoU antara Malaysia dan Uzbekistan
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menyaksikan pertukaran enam MoU antara Malaysia dan Uzbekistan di sini pada Sabtu, untuk kerjasama dalam pelbagai bidang antara kedua-dua negara.
Tahap keselamatan balai, tempat kunjungan ramai perlu ditingkatkan - Lee Lam Thye
Tahap keselamatan di semua balai polis dan tempat-tempat yang sering dikunjung ramai perlu ditingkatkan segera.
Kontraktor, operator menara telekomunikasi perlu jalin kerjasama - Fahmi
Menteri Komunikasi Fahmi Fadzil meminta kontraktor dan operator menara telekomunikasi supaya sentiasa berhubung dan bekerjasama bagi memastikan segala permasalahan dapat ditangani segera.
Lee Zii Jia melangkah ke akhir Terbuka Thailand
Lee Zii Jia layak ke perlawanan akhir Terbuka Thailand dengan menewaskan pemain pilihan kelapan kejohanan dari Taiwan Chou Tien Chen.
10 Berita Pilihan - (18 Mei 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Suspek serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram tiada kaitan kumpulan pengganas - KPN
Polis mengenal pasti suspek yang menyerang Balai Polis Ulu Tiram semalam tiada kaitan dengan kumpulan pengganas.
Filem aksi 'The Experts' angkat tema kekeluargaan
Unsur kekeluargaan menjadi taruhan filem aksi bertemakan rompakan "The Experts" bagi membezakannya daripada filem bergenre sama yang pernah dibawa ke layar perak sebelum ini.
Pharmaniaga serah pelan penyusunan semula PN17 kepada Bursa Securities
Pharmaniaga Bhd (Pharmaniaga) telah menyerahkan pelan penyusunan semula kepada Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd (Bursa Securities) untuk syarikat itu dilepaskan daripada status Nota Amalan 17 (PN17).
Kegagalan 104 ventilator: Tiada perjanjian bertulis KKM, PLSB - PAC
Ketiadaan perjanjian bertulis antara KKM dan Pharmaniaga Logistic Sdn Bhd menyebabkan tiada mana-mana pihak boleh dipertanggungjawabkan berhubung kegagalan 104 unit ventilator berfungsi.
Pharmaniaga lakar inisiatif strategik tangani status PN17
Pharmaniaga gariskan pelan strategik untuk menangani cabaran-cabaran yang dibentangkan oleh status Nota Amalan 17 (PN17).
Pharmaniaga beri jaminan bekalan ubat tidak terjejas - Dr Zaliha
Pharmaniaga Bhd telah memberi jaminan untuk membekal lebih daripada 700 produk ubat dan bukan ubat kepada semua fasiliti Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM) selain akan terus kukuh dan berdaya saing.
LTAT yakin mampu struktur semula Boustead dalam tiga tahun
Ahmad Nazim berkata pendedahan besar pelaburan LTAT dalam Boustead menyebabkan dana persaraan itu sukar untuk menikmati pulangan dividen sebenar.
Pharmaniaga catat kerugian bersih RM607 juta, cetus kriteria PN17
Perolehan merosot kepada RM3.51 bilion berikutan permintaan lebih rendah daripada kerajaan untuk pembelian vaksin COVID-19.
Pharmaniaga berjaya pasang mesin pengisian pre-filled syringe pertama di Malaysia
Kilang vaksin itu sebahagian pelan pembangunan berterusan Pharmaniaga ke arah menjadi kilang pengeluaran vaksin Halal pertama di dunia.
Pharmaniaga dapat lanjutan enam bulan pembekalan ubat ke KKM
KKM turut mengiktiraf kecemerlangan perkhidmatan Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhds dalam tempoh interim sebelum ini.
Pharmaniaga, Bionet meterai Perjanjian Kolaborasi Penyelidikan Vaksin Hexavalent Kanak-kanak
Pharmaniaga dan BioNet menandatangani Perjanjian Kerjasama Penyelidikan (RCA) bagi membangunkan vaksin kombinasi 6 dalam 1 (Vaksin Hexavalent) untuk kanak-kanak di Malaysia.
Pharmaniaga mulakan program penyahkarbonan
Antara inisiatif utama pihaknya adalah penggunaan kenderaan elektrik bagi penghantaran ubat-ubatan ke hospital dan klinik kerajaan.