KUALA LUMPUR – Defending its decision to enter into a Covid-19 vaccine deal with a Chinese company reported to have dubious past business practices, local property developer Yong Tai Bhd maintains that a stringent due diligence process will be in place.
In an interview with The Vibes recently, Yong Tai chief financial officer Paul Lam said the vaccine will only be approved upon assessment by the Health Ministry.
This comes after questions were raised over the safety and efficacy of the Covid-19 inactivated vaccine developed by Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd, one of China’s largest vaccine makers.
“I won’t be able to comment on Kangtai’s practices because we are just their local partner, and are not entering into a merger and acquisition or joint venture with them,” said Lam.
“In any case, Kangtai has conducted Phases 1 and 2 of the vaccine’s clinical trials. We will carry out the third trial, but all this is subject to the approval granted by the ministry’s Medical Review and Ethical Committee.
“If we pass that, we then need to apply for an import permit to bring in the vaccines, as well as obtain approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.
“With this two-tier approval process, it serves as the best due diligence screening for us. So, this is a very stringent process, and if the vaccines are unsafe and inappropriate for use, they will never get approved.”
Yong Tai announced on December 4 that it has entered into a heads of agreement with Kangtai that will grant the former exclusive commercialisation of the latter’s Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia.
The initial deal will see Yong Tai procure 20 million doses annually for a period of five years.
However, an article by The New York Times on December 8 raised concerns about Kangtai’s practices.
The report quoted 2016 court documents as saying Kangtai executive Du Weimin had bribed a government regulator US$44,000 (RM178,266) to get his company’s vaccines approved.
Du eventually got the green light to begin clinical trials for the vaccines, but the government official was later jailed for taking kickbacks. Du was never charged.
Health experts in China have said the problem with many vaccine makers is their lack of transparency, as well as their questionable practices, which have purportedly rattled public confidence in Chinese-made vaccines.
Lam said if all goes well, Yong Tai will make available the Covid-19 vaccine for mass use either through the government or private sector by early 2022, although the firm has yet to determine the price.
“If our trials show positive indications, we will definitely approach the (Malaysian) government. Otherwise, we will market the vaccines by way of distributing directly to private hospitals.”
He said Yong Tai chief executive Datuk Boo Kuang Loon has pledged to donate the vaccine to all frontliners upon its successful commercialisation.
On why Yong Tai, whose core business is tourism-related property development, decided to venture into vaccine dealings when it has no prior experience in the industry, Lam said the company is forced to diversify considering the uncertain market conditions.
“The reason we specifically chose vaccines is because, seeing our focus on tourism, we believe this is the answer (to Covid-19), and having everyone return to their normal lives and start travelling again.” – The Vibes, December 17, 2020
