KUALA LUMPUR – MY E.G. Services Bhd (MYEG) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to buy 10 million doses of Anhui Zhifei Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd’s Covid-19 jab, ensuring that the corresponding quantity of its recombinant protein sub-unit vaccine is reserved for delivery as early as August.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MYEG said it holds three-year rights to exclusively distribute the vaccine in Malaysia, while under a separate partnership, it has two-year exclusive distribution rights to the vaccine in the Philippines, and is currently in discussions to distribute in other countries.
“Last week, MYEG announced plans for the roll-out of a vaccination programme in the Philippines that will cover the provision of the vaccines to the public health segment, as well as private sales.”
The LOI is to ensure that the corresponding quantity of Zhifei’s recombinant protein sub-unit vaccine is reserved for delivery as early as August, when vaccination in the private market is allowed.
“This paves the way for the vaccine to be imported and made available to Malaysians as soon as (vaccination in) the private market commences, and subject to conditional authorisation by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA),” said the company.
The cost of the vaccine will be determined later, subject to the NPRA authorisation.
MYEG said it is confident that when the Zhifei jab becomes available locally, it will play an important role in accelerating the country’s efforts to attain herd immunity against the coronavirus.
Jointly developed by Zhifei and the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the vaccine is fast becoming one of the preferred ones in China since obtaining emergency use authorisation in early March.
More than 60 million doses have been administered in over a dozen provinces, including Beijing.
It is also being used in Uzbekistan. – Bernama, June 25, 2021