KUALA LUMPUR – Pharmaniaga LifeScience Sdn Bhd (PLS), a subsidiary of Pharmaniaga Bhd (Pharmaniaga), is expected to deliver 12.4 million doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to the government by next week instead of November, as under the original agreement.
Pharmaniaga managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the supply is being hastened by four months following the surge in cases since April, while PLS is operating 24 hours a day to achieve the target.
Zulkarnain said PLS has delivered 11.5 million doses, or 93% of the Sinovac vaccine supply, comprising 3.6 million doses through fill-and-finish manufacturing, and 7.9 million doses of the finished product has been imported.
“Pharmaniaga had signed a contract to supply about 12 million doses of the vaccine to the government, whereby under the contract, we have to complete the delivery by November.
“However, due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country, we (Pharmaniaga) have asked for speedier delivery. Alhamdulillah, we have done a ‘mix and match’, whereby we import the finished product (Sinovac) from China to be supplied to the government,” he told a virtual press conference today.
He added that so far, PLS has supplied 5.5 million doses of the vaccine through fill-and-finish manufacturing and, of this number, 3.6 million doses approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) have been delivered.
He also said that Pharmaniaga was prepared to provide additional supply of the vaccine as requested by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and the company will offer an additional supply of two million doses to the government.
“We are waiting for further directives from the government… if it wishes to obtain this supply, we will give our cooperation and deliver it before the end of July,” he said.
Zulkanain also announced that Pharmaniaga is preparing to supply the vaccine to state governments and the private sector after completing its deliveries to the federal government.
He said PLS has received orders for five million doses of the vaccine from state governments and the private sector. – Bernama, July 14, 2021
