KUALA LUMPUR – Solution Group Bhd’s (SGB) wholly owned subsidiary Solution Biologics Sdn Bhd (Solbio) today signed finished and bulk product agreements with CanSino Biologics Inc for the supply of the recombinant Ad5-nCoV vaccine for use against Covid-19.
In a statement, SGB said the finished product agreement allows Solbio to purchase and CanSino to supply the finished product for emergency use in Malaysia.
The bulk product agreement, meanwhile, will see CanSino supply the active pharmaceutical ingredients for fill and finish (F&F) to Solbio.
Both deals are for a period of 10 years, and effective immediately.
SGB deputy group managing director Datuk Mohd Nazlee Kamal said the first shipment of finished doses will be delivered by next month, and subsequent batches are on schedule.
“The CanSino vaccine, being a single-dose jab, makes it more efficient to administer, especially in rural and difficult-to-reach areas. This makes for huge savings in terms of logistics and other resources needed for the nationwide vaccination programme.”
Both agreements allow Solbio to fulfil its obligation to supply 3.5 million doses to the Health Ministry, and accept additional orders from the ministry, state governments, private sector and other Asean countries.
In addition, Solbio will have the capacity to supply booster shots should these be required for those already fully inoculated against the coronavirus.
“With the supply agreement, we are confident about meeting more than the government’s current requirement. And, we believe the supply of the vaccine known as Convidecia will help boost the vaccination rate in Malaysia sharply to meet the government’s accelerated target of immunising the country’s entire population against Covid-19 by October 2021,” said Nazlee.
He said the bulk product agreement will enable Solbio to conduct F&F and supply in Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Singapore.
CanSino has also authorised it to develop business in these countries by working with local partners and authorities.
“Our primary focus is to fulfil the Health Ministry supply, which we signed in early April and expect to complete by October,” said Nazlee.
SGB is also planning to expand vaccine distribution to other Asean members.
It is in talks with the governments of Thailand and the Philippines on supply, and expects emergency use approval by next month, targeting five million to 10 million doses for each country.
SGB is on track with the set-up of an F&F facility in Malaysia, which will start production in August and can produce up to three million doses per month. – Bernama, July 30, 2021
